
T. T. T. LIXXOLN. 
Liberal Member of Parliament for Darlington, 1910. 



REVELATIONS OF AN 
INTERNATIONAL SPY 



BY 
I. T. T. LINCOLN 

Libiral Member of Parliament for Darlington, 1910 



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NEW YORK 

ROBERT M, McBRIDE & COMPANY 

:i916 



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Copyright, 1916, by 
Robert M. McBride & Co. 



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Published Janl^jr, 1916 



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JAN 24 1916 
'CU418589 



PREFACE 

On the 5th and 6th of August, 1915, the entire 
Press of the United States gave great prominence 
to my arrest, made the day before upon a war- 
rant sworn out by the Senior British Vice-Consul 
in New York City, charging me with forgery com- 
mitted in England — in July and August, 1914. 

Rather strange ! I left England on the 30th of 
January, 1915 — providing all the time and oppor- 
tunity for my arrest between this date and July, 
1914, when, it is alleged, I committed the forgeries. 
And I was by no means in hiding. On the con- 
trary, as letters reproduced in subsequent chapters 
of this book will show, I was in direct touch with 
the War Office and the Admiralty in London. 
Every afternoon I was to be found in the large 
smoking room of the National Liberal Club. 

Why, if I had committed the forgeries was I 

not arrested? ;: 

» 

I arrived in New York .City on the 8th of Febru- 
ary and my address from that date on was at all 
times known to the British Secret Service, who 
were keeping me shadowed. I know this to be a 
fact. Why was I not arrested — if not in England 



Preface 

— at any rate here in New York between February 
8th and August 4th ? I was not in hiding. I lived 
under my own name; I moved about freely; I 
feared nothing. On the 23rd and 30th of May, I 
published in the New York World two articles 
about my Secret Service activities during the war. 
Even then Great Britain did not move. 

But since then something important has hap- 
pened. Messrs. Robert M. McBride & Company, 
the publishers of this book, sent out in June their 
catalogue of fall publications, containing among 
many other books — an advance notice of these, my 
Eevelations. These catalogues were, of course, 
sent to England as well. In addition, an English 
journalist, living in New York, drew the atten- 
tion of the British Government to my book — hence 
my arrest. Sir Edward Grey knows that I have 
indeed many things to reveal — hence the * * frame- 
up" of some charge, for which my extradition 
could be demanded had to be resorted to in order 
to silence me, and thus to prevent at all cost 
my Revelations being published! I have, how- 
ever, the utmost confidence that I will success- 
fully resist the demand for my extradition; I 
have the utmost confidence in the fairness and im- 
partiality of the courts of the United States. 

Meanwhile I have gone on calmly finishing my 
narrative. I was enabled to do this thanks to the 
kindness of Warden John Hayes of the Raymond 



Preface 

Street Prison, Brooklyn. He granted me certain 
facilities in the prison which have enabled me to 
finish my book. I desire herewith publicly to 
tender him my thanks. 

Just a final word. 

I am not prompted to make these Eevelations 
out of spite or revenge. Weeks before any pro- 
ceedings were brought against me, I had been ac- 
tively engaged upon them. My desire is to bring 
home the guilt and responsibility for this war to 
its real authors. The English people, as such, are 
innocent. They surely did not want the war. In 
the following pages they and the world will learn 
for the first time who dragged them into this war 
and why. 

In the course of my narrative, I shall make 
many startling, almost incredible disclosures re- 
garding the subterranean and sinister aims of 
British diplomacy, initiated under Edward VII 
and diligently pursued by Sir Edward Grey, un- 
known even to most of his colleagues in the British 
Cabinet. A mere official denial from the Foreign 
Office will neither refute me nor convince the world. 
I, therefore, make the following suggestion. Let 
a joint Parliamentary Committee be appointed 
with full powers and most complete facilities to 
examine the secret documents to be pointed out in 
my narrative. This is a fair proposition. The 
world is entitled to know the true history of the 



Preface 

present war. Hollow phrases, with which the 
world has hitherto been deceived, will not do. 

And I go further than that. In order to pre- 
vent the appointment of a ^* packed Committee,'' 
I take the liberty of proposing the following mem- 
bers of both Houses of Parliament: 

Lord Rosebery 

Lord Lorebum 

John Bums 

Sir William Byles 

George Cave, K. C. 

Sir Edward Carson, K. C. 

John Dillon 

Ramsay McDonald 

Bonar Law 

Sir Arthur Markham 

Arthur Ponsonby 

Josiah Wedgwood 
I shall abide by their statement and verdict. I 
must, however, warn them that most of the docu- 
ments to be referred to in the course of my narra- 
tive have not been filed away as official documents. 
They were not given the character of official docu- 
ments, in order to enable Sir Edward Grey to dis- 
claim any knowledge of their existence which he 
has frequently done in and out the House of Com- 
mons. The suggested Parliamentary Committee 
must bear this in mind. They should have access 
to the archives at Windsor Castle and, of course, 



Preface 

to the secret archives — official and non-official — 
of the British Embassies in Paris, Eome, Berlin, 
Constantinople, St. Petersburg, and Vienna and 
of the Legations at Brussels, Copenhagen, Bel- 
grade, Bucarest, Sofia and Teheran and, last not 
least, of those of the Foreign Office, Admiralty and 
War Office in London. 

If this, my proposal and challenge, is denied, the 
world will know why ; if it is acted upon my reve- 
lations, accusations and statements will be sub- 
stantiated before the forum of the whole world. 
And I have uncovered but a fraction of the things 
I know from years of diplomatic espionage. 

I. T. T. Lincoln. 

Eaymond Street Prison, 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 
October, 1915. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTEB PAGE 

I My Secret Service Activities in the European 

Capitals I 

II Hidden Diplomatic Moves in Many Parts of the 

World 44 

III Row I Obtained the Secrets of the French 

Foreign Office 80 

IV Edward VII's Intrigues fob the Isolation of Ger- 

many 102 

V An Abyssinian Intrigue 155 

VI The Triple Entente Conspiracy 165 

VII The Dangerous Ruse Which Won the Confidence 

of the British Foreign Office 235 

VIII Spying and Counter-Spying — ^the Sinister Founda- 
tion OF Secret Diplomacy 278 



THE ILLUSTRATIONS 

I. T. T. Lincoln. Liberal Member of Parliament for Darling- 
ton, 1910 Frontispiece 

YActva 

PAGB 

Reproduction of a letter from Lloyd George, congratulating 

Mr. Lincoln on his victory at Darlington . . . . 10 

The Lincoln Handicap (a cartoon from Punch) .... 11 

Mr. Lincoln's credentials to the French authorities issued 

by the British Embassy at Paris 54 

Letters from Mr. (now Sir) Valentine Chirol to Mr. Huybers 78 

Mr. Lincoln's credentials to the Danish officials .... 124 

A Letter from Sir George Bonham, British Minister at Berne 130 

Emperor Menelik of Abyssinia 154 

The Commercial Missions to Abyssinia 158 

Reproductions of original letters of introduction written by 

M. Ilg, Chief Foreign Advisor of Menelik .... 161 

Credentials of Austrian Mission to Emperor Menelik . .162 

A Prophetic Cartoon 172 

Credentials from M. Dubois and M. Schollaert .... 208 

A Letter from Captain Kenny 266 

A Second Letter from Captain Kenny 272 

A Letter from the Naval Intelligence Department of the 
Admiralty 278 



REVELATIONS 
OF AN INTERNATIONAL SPY 

CHAPTEE I 

MY SECEET SERVICE ACTIVITIES IN THE EUROPEAN 
CAPITALS 

THE nickeled barrel of a service revolver 
pointed at my breast, accompanied by the 
words, ^*Don^t move, don't make a move !'' 
This is how United States Deputy-Marshal George 
E. Proctor of the United States Secret Service 
arrested me on the 4th of August, at about 8.30 
p. M. I had worked all day on this book in the 
torrid, heated atmosphere of New York and I was 
consequently rather tired and intended retiring 
early. I was alone in the house, reading an even- 
ing paper, the family with whom I was staying 
having gone out for the evening. There was a 
quick emphatic ring at the front door and looking 
through the open windows I could discern in the 
dark five gentlemen. 

**You wantr* I queried. 

1 



2 Revelations of an International Spy 

**We have a message for Mr. Lincoln. Is he 
here — are you Mr. Lincoln T^ 

**I am Mr. Lincoln.'^ 

United States Deputy-Marshal Proctor there- 
upon pointed his revolver at me and admonished 
me not to move. 

*'Are you afraid of me T' I jokingly asked him. 

*'Not exactly," he said, **but we never take 
chances." 

Forced to play the host to such a formidable 
party of secret service agents and Pinkerton de- 
tectives, I hastened to let them in. These five 
gentlemen were courteous but firm. It was their 
duty to arrest me under a warrant sworn out by 
the British Consul. "When I had packed a few be- 
longings to cover what I was sure would be a tem- 
porary period, I was conducted by the officials to 
the Eaymond Street prison, Brooklyn. Next day 
I was brought before United States Judge Van 
Vechten Veeder. The proceedings there com- 
menced for my extradition on a trumped up 
charge of forgery — as I already pointed out in 
the Preface — are still going on. But I am more 
than ever hopeful of regaining my freedom within 
a short time. This very day (1st of November) 
I was interrupted in the reading of these proofs 
by the Warden standing in front of the steel bars 
of my cell. 

**Mr. Lincoln, there are two Scotland Yard de- 



Activities in the European Capitals 3 

tectives downstairs who would like to see you. 
Do you care to see them?'^ 

** Certainly/' I replied. 

I followed the Warden, Mr. John Hayes, down- 
stairs and there I was introduced to Chief In- 
spector Ward of Scotland Yard, the most famous 
detective in England and head of Scotland Yard, 
and to his assistant, Detective Sergeant Cooper, 
who were accompanied by United States Deputy 
Marshal George E. Proctor. These two famous 
Scotland Yard detectives came over specially 
from London to take me back with them. It is 
the first time that the British Government has 
ever sent the head of Scotland Yard out of the 
country to fetch anybody back. I suppose I 
should take this as an odd sort of a compliment. 
At any rate, it shows that the British Government 
does not consider me an unimportant person. 

The four of us went into a private room, and 
there Chief Inspector Ward invited me to return 
with him to England next Saturday, the 6th 
of November. He and his assistant have been 
here four weeks waiting for my extradition, and 
now that they see this means hopeless waiting, 
they have decided to pack up and return to proud 
England minus myself. "What a fiasco ! What a 
wanton squandering of public money! After 
about an hour's useless persuasion in the pres- 
ence of his assistant and U. S. Deputy Marshal 



4 Revelations of an International Spy 

Proctor, he asked these two gentlemen to retire 
and leave us alone. What passed between the 
head of Scotland Yard and myself within the 
four solid walls during an hour's man-to-man 
talk I care not to reveal except one promise and 
one hint he made. 

**If you return to England we shall drop the 
charges against you.'' 

**Ah!" I exclaimed, *'so you admit that you 
want me for something else than the * forgery^ 
charges." 

**I admit nothing and I know nothing beyond 
having orders to bring you back on those 
charges." 

'* You have the reputation of being a very clever 
man, Chief, and you are," I said, **and I do not 
expect nor ask you to admit anything, although 
you know why Sir Edward Grey is so anxious to 
get hold of me." The hint thrown out by him 
had reference to a substantial compensation in 
return for abstaining from publishing my reve- 
lations! We walked out of the room, he disap- 
pointed, dejected. I elated, satisfied. 

I am not an old man whose quick blood has 
cooled, and yet it seems a long, long distance in 
time from the school days in Hungary to life in 
this steel box with heavy grating, which has been 
my enforced study and habitation for these many 
weeks. Ah, well! Meditation is good for the 



Actroities in the European Capitals 5 

soul, and indeed I have had plenty of time for in- 
trospection and philosophy. 

However, let it not be imagined that these chap- 
ters from the life of a diplomatic spy are another 
*^ Confessions,'' though it is certain that I have 
eaten bread in several kingdoms and tasted life in 
infinite variety, like the redoubtable Jean Jacques 
Eousseau. This book must be accepted rather as 
a document of unwritten history from which the 
personal element could not be entirely eliminated. 
These revelations are not the canvas for painting 
a full-length portrait of the author. Yet are we 
not concerned with a flesh and blood reality, whose 
impulses and motives are likely to be misappre- 
hended? There is then a reasonable curiosity 
about my family and my upbringing that should, 
perforce, be satisfied. 

Two strains of mind and action have been al- 
ways in conflict in my life. In one of them pre- 
dominates the quiet fervor of the mystic and the 
imaginative sensitiveness of the artist. In the 
other, craving for excitement, passion for deduc- 
tion and analysis, and love of applause over- 
shadow all other leadings. 

Paks, the bustling little town on the Danube, 
where I was bom some thirty-six years ago, lies 
about seventy miles south of Budapest and so out 
of the main traveled roads of the tourist. My 
father, Nathan Trebitsch — ^may I be forgiven for 



6 Revelations of an International Spy 

having failed in his sight as a future ^* Light of 
IsraeP^ — was well known in Paks as the head of 
a famous firm of river-shipbuilders and ship- 
owners and a member of high repute upon the 
Budapest exchange. 

My elder brother, like so many of the younger 
generation of the Jewish faith, had little sym- 
pathy with the '^Chasidim," the strictest sect of 
the Pharisees, and soon drifted into infidelity. 
Upon me, Isaac, the younger son, centered all my 
father's hopes! 

It was elected that I should become a Rabbi and 
no money or exertion was spared in my prepara- 
tion for the sacred offices. 

At an age when most boys are exulting in the 
robust delights of outdoor sports, I was grinding 
away at my studies, eighteen out of the twenty- 
four hours. By going to bed at ten and rising at 
four, I accomplished the four years ' course at the 
gymnasium, or advanced high school, in ten 
months. From the gymnasium I went to a col- 
lege in Budapest and after three years there 
spent the next two with special studies in dra- 
matic art and literature at the Royal Academy 
for Drama and Art. During the holidays I 
visited all the galleries of the Continent, and on 
one of these occasions found myself in London 
for the first time. 

By one of those odd chances that determine the 



Activities in the European Capitals 7 

turning points in a man^s life, I met in London a 
compatriot at whose invitation I attended St. 
Stephen's Church in Colman Street. The little 
English that I had acquired in my travels made it 
difficult to follow the service with ease, and my 
eyes w^ere continually wandering from the prayer 
book to a copy of Eubens' masterpiece, **The De- 
scent from the Cross,'' that hung in the church. 
I began to ask myself why this Man among men 
— this Jew — should be so hated by me. There 
was little in the glorious history and poetry of 
my race that I had not studied and exulted over 
— yet of this Jew's story I knew but scornful de- 
tails. This was the beginning of my secession 
from the ancient teachings of my sect that grew 
stronger as I read New Testament history. 

My welcome in Budapest was not a warm one 
— all doors were shut against the backslider, and 
so I rented a little room by myself and plunged 
into the excitement of journalism on one of the 
Opposition dailies. Wanderlust again attacked 
me and my good uncle, who thoroughly approved 
of my desire to see the world, provided me with 
the funds to travel in South America and the 
United States. 

Meanwhile, my father had forgiven what he 
deemed my lapse into irreligion, and welcomed me 
back to the old home. But my London experience 
had stirred me too deeply, and I went to Ham- 



8 Revelations of an International Spy 

burg, where I entered the Mission House of the 
Eev. Frank. On Christmas day of 1899, I was 
received into the Christian Church under the 
name of Ignatius Timotheus, and after a course 
in theology at the Lutheran College at Breklum 
the summons came for me to go to Canada. 
There I became the assistant in the Presbyterian 
Mission to the Jews of Montreal, finishing the 
while my theological studies at the Presbyterian 
College there. In 1902, on the transference of 
this mission to the Anglican Church, I was re- 
tained as the agent and ordained into the Church 
of England by the Archbishop of Montreal. 

In 1902 and 1903 I traveled all over the eastern 
provinces of Canada on preaching tours which 
were not unsuccessful, as the files of the Canadian 
Churchman, the Halifax (N. S.) Chronicle and 
the Montreal dailies will bear witness. Some of 
my greatest successes as a preacher took place in 
St. PauPs Church, Hahfax, N. S. Sir Eichard 
Borden, the Prime Minister of Canada, who 
heard me, ventured to say that it was the best 
sermon he had ever heard. At another occa- 
sion, the Ottawa daily press hailed me *^as un- 
doubtedly the most eloquent preacher who had 
ever visited Ottawa.'' Work in the free colonial 
atmosphere was most congenial to me, but in 
1903 my health broke down and I was compelled 
to take a long holiday, which I spent in Germany. 



Activities in the European Capitals 9 

While there I applied to the Archbishop of Can- 
terbury for parish work and was appointed 
curate of Appledore in Kent. 

Life in a Kentish village did not make great 
demands upon my resources and I began to de- 
velop an interest in social and political conditions 
outside the Church. So much so, in fact, that at 
the end of fourteen months I sent in my resigna- 
tion to the Archbishop. His Grace's kindly con- 
sideration of me at this time will always be a 
grateful recollection. 

I gave up my curacy in Appledore, Kent, 
against the earnest entreaties of the Vicar, the 
Kev. C. B. Hall, whom I addressed thus : ^* In six 
years I shall be a member of the House of Com- 
mons. ' ' He laughed, but all the same I have kept 
my word; within five years and eight months of 
this prediction, I was a British M. P. 

How did I do it? During my work with Mr. 
Eowntree, to be mentioned presently, I came into 
contact not only with politicians, but also with the 
undercurrents of British politics. So all the time 
I was working with and for Mr. Eowntree, I con- 
stantly kept in mind the achievement of my ob- 
ject, which was to become a British M. P. 

In March, 1909, I thought the time had arrived 
to go boldly for it. It did not require great inge- 
nuity to obtain an invitation from the Liberal 
Party to fight a London Constituency, but on the 



10 Revelations of an International Spy 

very next day an invitation from the Darlington 
Liberal Association reached me. Darlington is 
a very important industrial center, full of big and 
famous engineering works. The first railway in 
the world was the Darlington-Stockton Eailway. 
The first locomotive in the world was built by 
Stephenson — in Darlington. E. Stephenson and 
Company are still building locomotives in Dar- 
lington. 

The sitting member for Darlington was Mr. 
Pike Pease, Whip of the Unionists. He sat for 
Darlington already eleven years, succeeding his 
father, who succeeded his father. So it was the 
third generation of Peases in direct succession 
who had represented Darlington. It had become 
what is called in England a ^ ^family seat." 
There were two attempts previously to unseat 
Mr. Pike Pease, once by a Labor then by a Liberal 
Candidate. Where they, the Englishmen, failed, 
I, the foreigner, succeeded. Darlington has 
never seen scenes like the one on the declaration 
of the poll, announcing my victory. The North 
Star of Darlington, the Tory paper, and my ve- 
hement opponent, often asked in their editorials, 
**We should like to know what Mr. Lincoln's fre- 
quent and mysterious visits to the Continent 
mean!" My maiden speech in the House of 
Commons was made two weeks after my entry. 
I spoke frequently and soon enjoyed the very 




1!. batoning Strttl. 
WibilJh>H.S.m. 

11th January 1910. 



Dear Mr. Lincoln, 

You have my heartiest good wishes in your contest 
at Darling:ton. A win at Darlington would be a great vic- 
tory for Free Trade^ and Liberalism, and I feel confident 
that the vigour with which you have conducted your cairipaign 
and the excellence of our cause -.viil conbine to defeat the 
forces of re-action ixnd Protectionism. 
Yours sincerely. 



TTZ^i 



Lincoln Esq* 



Reproduction of a Letter from Lloyd George, Congratulating 
Air. Lincoln on His Victory at Darlington. 



Activities in the European Capitals 11 

coveted distinction of seeing my caricature on the 
political page of Punch. 

At the beginning of the year 1906 Mr. B. S. 




From Punch, March 9, 1910. 

Paks Vobiscuni; or, The Lincoln Handicap — "We weel 
not zend Biidg-ett to ze Haus of Lorrdz to be zrown out 
on-ly again! !" (Mr. I. T. T. Lincoln — ^born at Paks in 
Hungary. ) 

Eowntree, the cocoa manufacturer and well-known 
English philanthropist of York, England, engaged 
me as his private secretary. Mr. Eowntree, who 
wields a great influence in the councils of the Lib- 



12 Revelations of an International Spy 

eral party, was then and for many years prior en- 
gaged upon an investigation, the purpose of which 
was to discover the causes of economic poverty. 

He had published a book a few years previous 
under the title of ** Poverty, a Study of Town 
Life.'' That book was the chief impetus of the 
Poor Law legislation in England of the succeeding 
years. He decided to follow up his investigation 
of the economic life of the town with a compre- 
hensive and exhaustive inquiry in most of the 
European continental countries, with a view to 
finding out the relation between economic poverty 
and the systems of land tenure. The investiga- 
tion was to embrace Belgium, Denmark, Germany, 
Switzerland, France, and Holland. My task was 
the organization and supervision of the whole 
inquiry. The first countries undertaken were 
Belgium and France. 

In common with the majority of people, diplo- 
matic secrets had always a great fascination for 
me. 

A few weeks after starting Mr. Eowntree's in- 
quiry and when on my first periodical visit to Eng- 
land to discuss matters with Mr. Kowntree, I re- 
ceived a letter from a very high personage invit- 
ing me to meet him in one of the most exclusive 
clubs in London in order to discuss a certain mat- 
ter with me. I had never seen him, nor had any 
relations with him, though his name was familiar 



Activities in the European Capitals 13 

to me, as it is to all readers of the daily papers in 
England. 

I could not conjecture the purpose of his invita- 
tion, but was very glad to make the acquaintance 
of such a distinguished Briton. On the ap- 
pointed day I drove up to the club in question — 
not a mile distant from Cockspur Street — only 
further west. I sent up my card and was imme- 
diately shown up. There stood before me, greet- 
ing me most cordially, a well-groomed and fault- 
lessly dressed gentleman, rather stout and under 
sized, with round, clean-shaven face and keen, 
penetrating eyes. At first I thought it was Lord 
Eosebery, so striking was the similarity in voice 
and manner, but the searching eyes were not Eose- 
bery 's, though they flashed or hid the thoughts of 
a Scotchman. 

I should like here to point out that it is not al- 
ways the governments who originate or carry out 
the diplomatic and political plots for the achieve- 
ment of certain objects. It is a fallacy to blame 
the English ** People'' or the German ^^ People'' 
for this war; neither they nor any other *^ People" 
wanted it. Notwithstanding the democracy or 
parliamentary government, and other much 
vaunted achievements of our age, the people, the 
nation in fact, not only does not know the hidden 
moves on the international chessboard; they are 
not even consulted in the most vital questions. 



14 Revelations of an International Spy 

The more important a question or policy, the more 
it is shrouded in secrecy. 

It would be wholly unjust and unwarranted to 
blame the English people for this war. It is 
not the people, Parliament, nor even the Cab- 
inet, which can be made responsible. It lies at 
the door of a group of individuals who, having a 
particular object in view, decided upon a certain 
course and by their influence in political and aris- 
tocratic circles began weaving a subtle and clever 
web of plots and intrigues in which they ultimately 
landed the government itself. The anti-German 
plot embarked upon by England after the acces- 
sion of King Edward VII and the retirement of 
Lord Salisbury was not a deliberate or well- 
thought-out policy of the British Government as 
such, but was the work of a few individuals who 
ultimately made it the official and deliberate policy 
of the British Government. The chief plotters, 
indeed conspirators, in this dangerous interna- 
tional intrigue were King Edward, Sir Edward 
Grey, Sir Charles Hardinge, Sir Francis Bertie, 
Lord Esher, and Lord Eoberts. 

The full significance of this undercurrent of 
politics was disclosed to me in my second meeting 
with my cryptic Scot, who apparently had been 
favorably impressed in his preliminary appraisal 
of my abilities. 

**I have heard of your investigation for Mr. 



Activities in the European Capitals 15 

Eowntree on the Continent, I was also told of your 
intelligence and capacity and of your antecedents 
. . ., and I am convinced, if rightly used, you 
could be of great benefit to England, aye, to the 
world. ' ' 

I did not know at the time whether this was dis- 
ingenuous flattery or honest convictions. At all 
events, the earnestness with which he spoke deeply 
impressed me, and he urged with great emphasis, 
heightened by forceful gestures and the flashes of 
emotion in his penetrating eyes. Sometimes — as 
if unable to control or repress his abounding en- 
ergy and vitality — ^he would get up from his chair, 
walk a few paces up and down, then stop in front 
of me and repeat his last few words. 

** There is a conspiracy on foot to involve this 
country with Germany — are you willing to help 
us to ward off this danger?'' 

*^ Certainly, decidedly," I said, ^^but I fail to see 
how I could be of any help in the sphere of high 
politics and diplomacy.'' 

His statement did not come as a surprise to me. 
Any impartial observer of the known diplomatic 
moves of those days, as recorded in the press, 
could not fail to notice that something on those 
lines was being enacted. But I did not fully ap- 
preciate the meaning of his words until, by way of 
instruction as it were, he informed me of what had 
been going on in Europe since 1902, which, indeed. 



16 Revelations of an International Spy 

revealed to me the sordid motives and criminal 
and despicable objects that prompted all those 
machinations against Germany. 

My subsequent experiences, my first-hand 
knowledge, acquired during five years of Secret 
Service work, have only too well substantiated the 
charges of this gentleman, whom henceforth I will 
call *^D.'' **D'' was one of the coterie of influ- 
ential and distinguished personalities who, being 
convinced of the dangerous foreign policy of 
Edward VII with his ententes, decided to watch 
developments behind the scenes in order to 
thwart his warlike schemes. They were con- 
vinced partizans of an Anglo-German general 
understanding. These two coteries, the Edward- 
ites and the group of '*D," carried on a *^kid 
glove'' war behind the scenes, which was none the 
less bitter. Each group had its supporters in the 
press, in Parliament and in entourage of King 
Edward VII. Had Sir Henry Campbell-Banner- 
man lived a few years longer, the anti-German 
schemes of Edward VII and Grey would not have 
resulted in war. I must leave to a future date 
the lifting of the veil of secrecy from these hidden 
clashes between the two groups. 

Once in 1912, **D's'' group nearly succeeded, 
but unofficial moves by Grey and one of his un- 
official lieutenants in the Balkans definitely de- 
stroyed the hope of an Anglo- German understand- 



Actroities in the European Capitals 17 

ing, although in 1913 one more effort was put 
forth. But it can safely be said that from 1912 
the present war became inevitable. There 'must 
be many people, particularly in Bucharest, who 
remember my oft repeated prediction within 
three years we shall have a European war. In 
the succeeding chapters the reader will be enabled 
to peep behind tha hitherto impenetrable secrecy 
and mystery of some of the diplomatic battles 
fought behind the scenes, though his curiosity will 
not and cannot be wholly satisfied. Not yet ! 

Looking back on those years of diplomatic 
and political preparations, I can truthfully say 
that an abyss of immeasurable depths and in- 
calculable dimensions was being dug by Edward 
VII and his fellow conspirators, who did not dis- 
dain to enroll as their helpers the infamous and 
criminal dregs of political humanity: the Pan- 
slavists of Kussia, and the hysterical chauvinists 
of France, who for the problematic remedying of 
imaginary wrongs have made their country the 
blind and wilHng tool of corrupt Eussia and covet- 
ous Britain. 

** We know," he continued, **that there is a vast 
scheme on foot, engineered by certain persons in 
England and France, completely to isolate Ger- 
many and then make war upon her. We believe 
this to be inimical to the best interests of Great 
Britain. We want to prevent this. The first con- 



18 Revelations of an International Spy 

dition is for us to be well and exactly informed of 
all the moves, schemes, decisions. This would be 
your duty. You have splendid opportunities. 
The investigation you are conducting for Mr. 
Eowntree might easily be made an opportunity 
for you to get acquainted with ambassadors and 
statesmen all over Europe. Moreover, the chief 
centers of interest at present are Paris and Brus- 
sels — where I understand your work for the pres- 
ent will lie. Are you willing to undertake work 
of such a nature!'* 

I did not see any harm in accepting his proposal. 
It would not in the least interfere with my work ; 
besides, it was in complete harmony with my own 
idea. A keen student and observer of interna- 
tional politics, I could not fail to see that Great 
Britain was steering a wrong and highly danger- 
ous course, and I said so in private conversations 
and public speeches. Now an opportunity was af- 
forded me to watch from behind the scenes and, 
if possible, to contribute to its undoing. I readily 
admit that in order to do this I had rather often to 
practise deception. I do not feel any moral scru- 
ples on this score. I never did. I know I have 
done very useful work — though unavailing against 
the tremendous influences arrayed against us. 
Many armchair moralists will condemn me. But 
as long as the fate and destinies of nations are di- 
rected in obscurity by irresponsible secret diplo- 



Activities in the European Capitals 19 

macy, so long the spying out of their work — for 
their undoing — will have to be done in secret. 

I was not a spy or a Secret Service agent in the 
usual meaning of the term. Indeed, the great op- 
portunities I had of knowing many of the most 
important events, and the great success that at- 
tended my missions, were to a very large extent 
due to the fact that my Secret Service activities 
were carried out on original lines. The usual Se- 
cret Service agent is sent to a foreign country 
with one or two specified objects : ^^Go bring us a 
drawing of the new naval gun to be installed on 
the super-dreadnought Thunderer/' Or, **Go 
to Belgrade and find out how far Monsieur de 
Harting (Russian Minister) is implicated in the 
Eussian agitation,'^ or, **Go to Copenhagen and 
find out the present state of negotiations between 
Eussia and Great Britaiji," or, ^^ Obtain the se- 
cret naval code of the torpedo boat divisions of the 
Home Fleet of Great Britain,'' etc., etc. 

But a Secret Service agent such as I was has 
quite another work to perform. Although definite 
questions are occasionally given him, his duty con- 
sists in continual and indefatigable watchfulness 
over policies, plots, and schemes, and he is left to 
his own resources. He is even free to employ sub- 
agents. He must mix with ministers, statesmen, 
diplomats — which I have successfully done. Many 
of those who helped me in my work did not know 



20 Revelations of an International Spy 

it at the time. The reading of this narrative, 
therefore, will come to them as a shock and sur- 
prise. I even had the help of Sir Henry Camp- 
bell Bannerman, Prime Minister of Great Britain, 
as I will describe it in its proper place. I am bold 
enough to state that few, if any, agents engaged 
in secret, political or diplomatic espionage, have 
interviewed and had the assistance (often unwit- 
tingly) of so many highly placed personages as I 
did in the years of my service. 

The chessboard I had to study and watch might 
be described as follows : 

The Playeks : King Edward and Kaiser Wit- 
helm II. 

King Edward playing dark; his figures: 

The King: Russia, 

The Queen: France, 

The two Knights : Canada and Australasia, 

The two Bishops: Italy and Servia, 

The two Castles : Japan and Portugal, 

Pawns: Belgium, Persia, Manchuria, Mon- 
golia, Balkans, Turkey, Morocco and Egypt, 

King Edward was surrounded and assisted by 
The Editorial Department (devising the problem) : 
Lord Roberts, Lord Esher, Sir Edward Grey, Sir 
Charles Hardinge, Mons, Delcasse, M, Isvolsky, 

Substitute Playees: Sir Francis Bertie, Sir 
^Arthur Nicholson, Sir Fairfax Cartwright, 



Activities in the European Capitals 21 

Marker: Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace. 
Attendants : Sir Arthur Hardinge, Sir Frank 
LascelleSj Sir Edward Goschen and many others. 

I had to watch the game and find out the inten- 
tions of the players in advance, by obtaining a 
summary of their secret conversations, during 
which the next move was discussed with * ^ D ' ' and 
decided upon — as will be shown later — and then 
make a countermove. 

I have had my own chessboard. My figures 
were : Sir Edward Grey, who supplied me, osten- 
sibly for Mr. Rowntree 's investigations, with spe- 
cial letters of introduction to his chessmen — the 
British Ambassadors in Europe. These in turn 
introduced me to their chessmen — Belgian, 
French, Danish, Servian, statesmen and perma- 
nent officials. My connections reached up even 
into imperial and royal circles. I was received in 
audience in 1910 by the murdered Archduke Fran- 
cis Ferdinand, late Heir-Presumptive of Austria- 
Hungary, in his palace of Belvedere, when a 
highly important conversation about the Balkans 
took place between himself and myself. Part of 
this interview I published at his request in a Lon- 
don Daily {Daily Chronicle), 

The gist of the interview — a fuller description 
of it will be given in a later chapter — was his ar- 
dent desire, which was also the meaning of his two 



22 Revelations of an International Spy 

visits to England, for a rapprochement between 
Austria-Hungary and Great Britain with a view 
of paving the way for a general Anglo-German 
understanding and his emphatic contradiction that 
Austria-Hungary had political designs on the 
Balkans. He, however, let it be understood that 
Austria-Hungary had great commercial interests 
there which he considered his duty to foster and 
develop. 

The publication of it caused a profound sen- 
sation in all the capitals of Europe. The Neue 
Freie Presse of Vienna and other leading papers 
textually reproduced my interview and expressed 
surprise at the views of the Archduke and confi- 
dently predicted a speedy denial which, needless 
to say, did not come. Indeed, the publication of 
this article was deliberately made for certain rea- 
sons. The Daily Telegraph, surmising these rea- 
sons, declined to publish it, but I had to publish 
it, and so I gave it to the Daily Chronicle. 

A few days after its publication I called upon 
Sir Edward Grey at the Foreign Office by appoint- 
ment, requested by me (I was an M.P. at the 
time) . I wanted to glean certain things from him, 
but I did not succeed, for I saw only one of the 
permanent officials. Sir Edward Grey — I must 
admit — is very clever, reticent, but shallow. I am 
afraid the '* German Menace,'* chimed into his 
ears by the Editorial Department of the Chess 



Activities in the European Capitals 23 

Club, had taken full possession of his thoughts — 
too insular at all times. Later it became an ob- 
session. So easily was he caught in the meshes of 
the intrigues and plots. 

After a few days of consideration I decided to 
undertake the fascinating work ^ ^ D ' ' proposed to 
me and again met him at his club. He was visibly 
pleased. *^ Before everything else — don't be in a 
hurry. Take your time. If at any time you con- 
sider it necessary for us to meet, if you cannot 
come to London, I shall be pleased to meet you on 
the Continent. Never trust really important in- 
formation to the mails, communicate them always 
personally. Absolute secrecy is not only the first 
essential condition of success, but is also advisable 
in order to prevent a European scandal. I do not 
want to injure either His Majesty or Sir Edward, 
but I and those who think with me have made up 
our minds to counteract their schemes and so work 
for an Anglo-German understanding. Remember 
this is a work where quality tells. It is a drill of 
brains. Here is £500 for your expenses. You 
will be good enough to let me have once a month 
your statement of accounts. As to your remuner- 
ation — leave that to me ! ' ' 

I undertook my work eagerly; I threw my whole 
energy and enthusiasm into it. I lied, I deceived, 
I pretended, I betrayed, I mislead, just as King 
Edward, Sir Edward Grey, and their fellow con- 



24 Revelations of an International Spy 

spirators lied, deceived, and betrayed. I, individ- 
uals; they, nations; I, to prevent war; they, to 
bring it about. I, to establish friendly relations 
between Great Britain and Germany; they, to 
drive a wedge between the two nations. I, to allay 
differences ; they, to artificially raise them. These 
are startling statements, but I shall prove them. 

During the years 1905-1908 instructions were 
given to all continental correspondents of the Lon- 
don Times hy Sir Valentine Chirol to suppress 
everything that might have a beneficial influence 
or effect on Anglo-German relations and magnify 
and holster up everything which will embitter it. 

Will the Times dare to deny it? It may be 
objected that the Times is a private publication, 
and the British Government cannot be made re- 
sponsible for its policy. True ; but this policy of 
the Times was inspired by King Edward via Lord 
Esher and other highly placed intermediaries. 
The British Government as such did not know 
anything about it, but Lord Lansdowne and Sir 
Edward Grey knew, Sir Charles Hardinge, Sir 
Francis Bertie, and others knew about it. 

Furthermore, who was responsible for the trans- 
fer of Sir Fairfax Cartwright from the Legation 
at Munich to the Embassy at Vienna, and what 
were the causes that inspired it 9 It was but an- 
other deliberate move by King Edward to forge 
an iron ring round Germany and then wantonly 



Activities in the European Capitals 25 

attack her. Sir Edward Grey published a white 
paper to justify his conduct, and incidentally to 
put Germany in the wrong. Does he really be- 
lieve that the world is in a position to arrive at a 
sound and truthful judgment with only part of the 
evidence before itf Why not publish the secret 
reports which Sir Fairfax was wont of sending 
from Munich? 

Not sent to him, I admit, but to King Ed- 
ward, all of which was religiously kept from the 
knowledge of the Cabinet. He may be sur- 
prised that I know of them and wonder how I 
obtained knowle^e of them. But this is beside 
the question, ^"^ill he publish them? and if not, 
why not? Or v/hy not print the facts connected 
with the sending of secret military missions to 
France and Belgium in 1909, 1911 and 1912, and 
let the world weigh their deliberations'? Why 
were the reports of the British Military Attache 
at Brussels withheld? Who inspired Sir Francis 
Bertie 's war preparations in Paris and the clever 
scheming the Dutch-Belgian rapprochement of 
1907 — hidden move which led to the appointment 
of a joint Dutch-Belgian commission to discuss 
and propose means to effect it? Why was the 
commission dissolved and straightway followed by 
the preparation of plans to fortify Flushing ? My 
information — as Sir Edward can see — is star- 
tlingiy complete. I do not expect that he will dare 



26 Revelations of an International Spy 

to publish any of the above. But I will, and many 
other interesting facts, which will throw a lurid 
light on the genesis and purposes of this war, 
fought solely *'for the rights of small nations, for 
the sanctity of treaties, for the upholding of Bel- 
glumes neutrality and for European civilization. ' ' 



On the 25th of March, 1906, at 11 a. m., I found 
myself seated in the spacious and handsome draw- 
ing-room of the British Legation in Brussels. 
Facing me on the wall were hanging two exqui- 
sitely beautiful Persian rugs, a gift from the Shah 
of Persia to Sir Arthur Hardinge, formerly Brit- 
ish Minister at Teheran. Sir Arthur was now 
British Minister to Belgium, and I was waiting 
for his appearance. Within a few minutes of my 
being shown into the drawing-room. Sir Arthur 
Hardinge, K.C.B., Gr.C.M.G., His Britannic Maj- 
esty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Pleni- 
potentiary, appeared from a side door and greeted 
me very cordially. I handed him an official note 
from Sir Edward Grey, asking Sir Arthur to af- 
ford me *^all assistance and facilities'' for the 
carrying out of my work. 

**Yes, yes — I had a letter from Sir Edward, 
notifying me of your coming and of the official 
letter you carry with you," said Sir Arthur, after 
having read the letter I brought with me. ** Well, 



Activities in the European Capitals 27 

Mr. Lincoln, if you tell me exactly what you want 
to do, I shall see what I can do for you. ' ' I told 
him of Mr. Rowntree 's philanthropic work, of his 
aim and purpose, remembering **D's" instruc- 
tion: **Make all ambassadors and other persons 
of influence you will meet interested in your work 
for Mr. Rowntree. That will provide you with an 
opportunity of seeing them again and again. 
Avoid before everything else asking direct ques- 
tions on international affairs from ambassadors. 
They would on no account give you the desired 
reply; besides, you might make them to suspect 
you. Interest them in your work. Every Secret 
Service agent must have a guise under which he 
works. Mr. Rowntree 's investigation provides 
you with the best possible guise.^ Keep it, there- 
fore, in the forefront in your conversation with 
them. Occasionally you should air your opinions 
on international politics, instead of asking them 
for theirs. Make statements which they will have 
to contradict. In other words be satisfied from 
them to learn the general outline and direction of 
Grey's policy for the time being. For this will 
enable you to pursue your work for details in more 
accessible quarters. '' 

Complying with these instructions of **D,'' I 
endeavored in my first three or four interviews 

iThe results of my Belgian Investigations were published by 
Mr. Rowntree in 1910 under the title: Land and Labor Les- 
sons from Belgium (Macmillan). 



28 Revelations of an International Spy 

with Sir Arthur Hardinge to interest him in Mr. 
Rowntree's work, its magnitude, its large concep- 
tion, its economic importance. I pointed out to 
His Excellency that Mr. Eowntree's previous 
book, *' Poverty, a Study in Town Life,'' was in- 
strumental in imitating most of the Poor Law leg- 
islation passed in England during the past few 
years. I impressed on him that his aim now was : 
**To find out the causes of economic poverty and 
its economic remedies.'' And I must say that 
even after my first interview with Sir Arthur, I 
had the satisfaction of seeing him interested. 

Upon my suggestion, he promised to introduce 
me to the Belgian Foreign Office with a request to 
introduce me to other ministers and their perma- 
nent officials I might desire to know. He invited 
me to come and see him any time I wanted some- 
thing. Thus I became a frequent — very frequent 
— visitor to Sir Arthur and to the Hon. Percy 
Wyndham, First Secretary of the Legation. 

**D" in his parting instructions to me had said: 
^'When chatting informally about international 
affairs with ambassadors, speak, as a matter of 
course, of certain things which they know are se- 
crets, for this will — together with the fact that you 
come to them direct from Sir Edward Grey — give 
you a certain standing with them. For instance, 
show them that you know that His Majesty (Ed- 
ward Vn) sent Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace on 



Activities in the European Capitals 29 

a confidential mission to the Algeciras Conference, 
and from there to St. Petersburg in order to bring 
Eussia into the Entente Cordiale. Show them that 
you know why Sir Fairfax Cartwright was ap- 
pointed British Minister to Bavaria. '^ 

*^D'' told me many other diplomatic secrets 
which were not known even to most of the Cabinet 
Ministers of those days, and they will indeed hear 
of it now for the first time. For it should be re- 
membered that the information which Sir Edward 
Grey magnanimously vouchsafed to Parliament or 
even to the full Cabinet was sometimes misleading, 
always fragmentary, and never the whole truth. 
This duplicity is known only to a very few and 
many of the things to be disclosed by me in the 
course of this narrative will come even to British 
Cabinet Ministers as a complete surprise. For 
instance, did they know at the time, or do they 
know to-day, that in the 4th week of January of 
1906 there was a *^war counciP' held in Windsor 
Castle between King Edward VII, Sir Charles 
Hardinge, Permanent Under Secretary of State 
for Foreign Affairs, Sir Francis Bertie, British 
Ambassador to France, and Mons. Cambon, 
French Ambassador in London, and where a war 
on Germany was especially discussed — as I will 
show in its proper place. Did they know at the 
time or do they know it to-day that Grey made use 
of the Congo Agitation to force the abdication of 



30 Revelations of an International Spy 

King Leopold II of Belgium, because Leopold 
would not be drawn into the orbit of the policy of 
the Entente Cordiale? But more of these matters 
anon. 

The Parliament and the whole Cabinet were 
merely puppets in the hands of Edward VII and 
Sir Edward Grey. This was easily accomplished. 
Grey in his memoranda, prepared expressly for 
the Cabinet Ministers and circulated amongst 
them a day or two prior to important Cabinet 
Councils, presented a *^ frame-up'' which was sup- 
ported by judicious quotations from the secret re- 
ports of ambassadors abroad. These ambassa- 
dors knew, of course, what was expected of them ; 
they were indeed partisans if not the originators 
of the policy in question, otherwise they would not 
have been where they were. The Cabinet was 
frightened, dragged, pushed into accepting and 
endorsing the policy desired. Sir Edward Grey 
himself was captured in like manner. 

Sir Fairfax Cartwright's secret reports from 
Munich sent to King Edward are a classical ex- 
ample of sheer stupidity. But all reports and 
despatches from Paris, Berlin, Vienna, St. Peters- 
burg, Munich, Brussels, Copenhagen, Constanti- 
nople, etc., were prepared, written, and edited 
according to one common plan and policy, for one 
definite aim, viz : the making of war on Germany. 



Activities in the European Capitals 31 

Even Mr. Asquith, the Prime Minister, was bam- 
boozled by the secret clique. I do not ask for 
these, my statements, blind belief. Knowing that 
my knowledge is exact and correct, I am quite pre- 
pared to relegate the probing of these matters to 
a Parliamentary Commission — suggested in the 
Preface. If Great Britain — I mean the people — 
is desirous of clearing herself of these and other 
of my charges yet to follow, the appointment of 
such a commission cannot be denied. 

Far be it from me to declare that Great Britain 
and Great Britain alone is responsible for this 
war. Indeed, I know — and know it better than 
most people — that such is not the case. Every 
one of the countries now involved in the war con- 
tributed to its coming — Belgium not excepted, or 
rather King Leopold and King Albert. But it 
was King Edward and Sir Edward Grey who — as- 
sisted by French Chauvinism and Kussian Pan- 
slavism — deliberately worked for this war, and 
either rejected Germany ^s overtures for an entente 
or made the negotiations concerned a farce — am- 
ple proof of this is to be found in Downing Street. 
It was Edward's secret clique who made this plan, 
the Cabinet, Parliament and the people were only 
used to register their wish, to approve the policy 
of the wire-pullers by the adoption of a meaning- 
less formula put before them. 



32 Revelations of an International Spy 

In order to gain the secrets desired by **D/' I 
had to establish connection with these very wire- 
pullers or their executives. 

\y^he first mission entrusted to me consisted of 
obtaining exact data to the following questions : 

1. Did England and France, under the influence 
of the Morocco crisis of last year (1905), contem- 
plate or conclude an alliance directed against 
Germany! If so, what was to be its scope and 
which were its provisions ? 

2. What was the nature of the feelers and nego- 
tiations going on (early 1906) between France and 
England and Russia with a view of extending the 
Entente Cordiale? 

3. What was discussed in the last week of Jan- 
uary in Windsor Castle between His Majesty, Sir 
Francis Bertie, Sir Charles Hardinge, and Mon- 
sieur Cambon? 

4. What was behind the Congo agitation? 

I started my investigations in Brussels, for 
many reasons. The foreign ministers in Brus- 
sels — Belgium not being one of the Great Powers 
— have only the rank of envoy extraordinary and 
minister plenipotentiary. France being one of 
the Great Powers, the heads of the foreign mis- 
sions there have the rank and title of ambassador. 
Now ambassadors are not easily accessible. This 
was one of the reasons. The second reason was 
that I had to resort to any device first to gain in 



Activities in the European Capitals 33 

Brussels some experience and knowledge of secret 
diplomatic espionage before pursuing my mission 
into the more hidden channels of international in- 
trigues. 

I had letters of introduction to Sir Francis Ber- 
tie, British ambassador in Paris, too, but I decided 
first of all to take my soundings in Brussels. Ac- 
cordingly I requested Sir Arthur to introduce me 
to Baron Favereau, Belgian Foreign Minister, and 
to give me a general letter of introduction and to 
introduce me to Senator Wiener of the Belgian 
Senate as well as to the Times (London) cor- 
respondent in Brussels. **D" *^put me up'* to 
these two, telling me that Senator Wiener was the 
confidential friend and adviser of King Leopold 
II, as w^ell as in close touch with the British Gov- 
ernment, and Mr. Huybers, the London Times cor- 
respondent, might be very useful, for he knew cer- 
tain things that were going on behind the scenes. 
Sir Arthur gave the letters above referred to, 
which proved to me very useful ; he arranged with 
the Belgian Foreign Office for my presentation to 
Baron Favereau, and took me personally in the 
legation carriage to Senator Wiener and Mr. Huy- 
bers. I need not say that everywhere I was not 
only received very cordially, but with very great 
respect due to the fact that Sir Arthur let it be 
known everywhere — as he said in his letter as well 
— that I was sent to the British Legation in Brus- 



34 Revelations of an International Spy 

sels by the Britannic Majesty ^s * * Minister for For- 
eign Affairs." 

(X)ne morning, a day or two after my introduc- 
tory visit to him, I received a message from Sir 
Arthur that I was expected at the Belgian Foreign 
Office the next morning. I was conducted — once 
there — to Monsieur Comte van den Steen de 
Jahay, Chief of the Cabinet of the Foreign Minis- 
ter. He conducted me to Baron Favereau, who 
received me very cordially. I only had a few 
minutes of conversation with the Baron, who 
asked me what he could do for me. I told him of 
my economic investigations in Belgium and asked 
him for his assistance. The reply that he would 
be glad to do all he could, but he failed to see (wise 
man!) how he could help me. Indeed so! I sug- 
gested that he should officially introduce me to 
some of the ministers in Brussels and I would 
then, myself, in consultation with the various de- 
partments in the different ministries, see how far 
they could help me. This he gladly promised. 
Count van den Steen promised to arrange all nec- 
essary steps and I left the ministry highly satis- 
fied. 

I did not expect or intend to establish ** con- 
versational acquaintance" with Baron Favereau. 
I wanted to see him to have the requisite degree of 
prestige with the permanent officials in the various 
departments and also to throw everybody off the 



Activities in the European Capitals 35 

scent. Who could possibly suspect me of diplo- 
matic espionage? Sir Arthur Hardinge! Did 
not I come with special letters of introduction 
from Sir Edward Grey himself? Or Mr. Huy- 
bers? or Baron Favereau? or Senator Wiener? 
Was I not openly introduced to them by Sir 
Arthur? The permanent officials in Brussels? 
Was I not introduced to them by Baron Fa- 
vereau? The very openness of my methods se- 
cured for me opportunities never before attained 
by any one single diplomatic spy. 

Indeed, my method worked so excellently that it 
was only occasionally that in order to find out 
some vital secret I had to resort to the two time- 
honored means of secret service work : women and 
money. In the majority of cases I did all my 
work alone without even paying for the informa- 
tion. The usual secret service agent, who goes 
about his task with an air of mystery, trying sur- 
reptitiously to buy information, has certainly great 
difficulties, but I went about my task openly, di- 
rectly, and addressed myself to the very people 
who were either the makers' executive organs or 
at any rate the repositories of the secrets I sought. 

Diplomatic espionage is much more difficult than 
either naval or military espionage. It requires 
more shrewdness, resourcefulness, tact, and clever- 
ness. Very often protean methods have to be 
tried. A ^^ governess,'' by roundabout ways and 



36 Revelations of an International Spy 

through very high introductions, becomes a mem- 
ber of a minister's household. For months or 
sometimes a year she will abstain from doing or 
saying anything which would attract notice. She 
is simply biding her time, until important secret 
documents are in the desk of her employer. Then 
she steals them and disappears.^ A ^^ butler*' is 
similarly introduced into the house of a statesman 
or diplomat. He overhears conversations and 
steals documents, letters, outgoing or incoming 
mail. A driver or chauffeur watches for the fa- 
vorable moment when he carries important docu- 
ments to his sovereign in residence near the capi- 
tal and arranges to be held up at some lonely spot 
on his way. 

But all secret matters, referring to secret nego- 
tiations, confidential instructions from the gov- 
ernment to their ambassadors abroad, or secret 
reports from these to their government, are in- 
variably and without exception sent by couriers. 
These couriers, or King's Messengers, as they are 
known in England, are especially selected from 
among the trusted nobility and their only business 
is to carry the despatch bags and to defend their 
trust *^with their last drop of blood." 

The couriers are often waylaid and robbed of 
their important documents by clever ruses. A 

1 During October King Constantine's private desk was broken 
open in his palace at Athens. 



Activities in the European Capitals 37 

young lady, naturally very pretty, accompanied 
by one or two very pretty children (ostensi- 
bly hers), travels by the same train as the Brit- 
ish King's Messenger to St. Petersburg. The 
children are the blind ! The children are sent into 
his compartment and he makes friends with them 
or they with him. The * ^mother'' after a while 
goes after them and apologizes to the gentleman, 
rebuking sternly *4ier children. *' The gentleman 
of course assures her, compliments her, etc.; the 
contact is established. To her surprise and joy 
she finds that he too is going to St. Petersburg, 
where her husband is a big manufacturer or some- 
thing else. She has just been to Brussels to visit 
relatives. (She joined the train at Brussels.) 
There are two gentlemen and a lady in another 
compartment of the same train. After dinner 
they chat agreeably (the children are already 
asleep) until the time of action has arrived, which 
in this case was Cologne. The guard takes his 
orders from one of the gentlemen in the other com- 
partment — which are to keep everybody away 
from this coach. The lady looks at her watch. 
*^We shall soon be in Cologne. '^ She yawns lan- 
guidly and drops by ** accident'' her vanity bag or 
handkerchief. Her chivalrous companion bends 
down to pick it up — that moment he is chloro- 
formed. The spies in the flank compartments 



38 Revelations of an International Spy 

come in and they take away documents, children 
and all, leaving the train at Cologne. 

It will not seem possible to my readers that this 
same messenger could have been waylaid again. 
\/Yet he was, only a few months afterwards on 
his way to Copenhagen. He was traveling 
via Quenboro' — Flushing — Hamburg. At Rosen- 
daal in Holland a gentleman, seemingly a pros- 
perous manufacturer, got in. He went into the 
next compartment. It was soon evident that he 
could not talk Dutch, for when the conductor asked 
for his ticket it was found that it was not available 
for this train scheduled as a D. train. This was 
purposely done in order to get the British messen- 
ger to interpret for him. Our guard, of course, 
demanded the payment of the excess fare, but the 
spy did not understand him and went on jabbering 
in Swedish, then in French, which the conductor 
did not understand. The spy grew excited, re- 
monstrated, and shouted. Many passengers came 
out into the corridor alongside the compartments. 
The Messenger too. He spoke French to the spy. 
The latter was happy, grateful, and expressed his 
gratitude. 

When they arrived at the German frontier 
the same thing happened, he had to pay the ex- 
cess from Gennep to Hamburg. The messenger 
again interpreted. They got into a conversation 
afterwards and dined together in the dining-car. 



Activities in the European Capitals 39 

When they arrived in Hamburg they decided to 
drive through the town to the Altonaer Haupt- 
bahnhof to take the sleeper to Copenhagen. 
Their sleeping compartments were adjoining. Be- 
fore retiring they smoked and chatted together. 
The spy offered him a final cigar. Both lighted 
and continued their conversation — the messen- 
ger's cigar soon putting him gently into a state of 
unconsciousness. When he awoke his despatches 
were gone. No complaint is ever made by one 
government to another in any such cases. It is 
one of the hazards of this dangerous occupation 
and the courier has a full realization of his peril- 
ous responsibilities when he accepts his commis- 
sion. 

The headquarters of the German couriers of the 
West is in Cologne. On a certain day of each 
week the secret despatches for Brussels, The 
Hague, Paris, London, Madrid, Lisbon, Tangier, 
and South American capitals are sent by couriers 
from Berlin to Cologne. Then they are distrib- 
uted to the respective couriers. One goes to 
Brussels and The Hague and returns with the 
despatch bags of the German Legation, then to 
Cologne, whence they are forwarded to Berlin. 
Another courier takes the bags to Paris, Madrid, 
Lisbon, and Tangier; another to Washington, 
another to London, each bringing back the Em- 
bassy's despatch bag. The Petersburg, Vienna, 



40 Revelations of an International Spy 

Constantinople, Middle East (Persia for in- 
stance), and far eastern bags are sent from 
Berlin direct. The couriers for Egypt, Eome, 
South Africa, have their headquarters in Munich. 

DIPLOMATIC ESPIONAGE 

The most important, withal the least known, 
branch of secret service work is the Diplomatic 
Espionage. It must not be confused with military 
and naval espionage, which is mainly concerned 
with obtaining plans of fortifications, working 
drawings of ordnance, plans of mobilization and 
of battleships and secret code books, etc. This 
marvelous machine of military and naval secret 
service I shall discuss in a later chapter. 

When Kaiser William II meets the Tzar of all 
the Eussias, it is France, England, and Turkey 
who must penetrate the veil of the secret conclaves. 
When Edward VII meets Clemenceau, the French 
Prime Minister at Marienbard, the secret intelli- 
gence departments of Germany and Austria must 
watch for shadows on the political map of Europe. 
When England and France sign an entente cor- 
diale, the starting point for new negotiations be- 
tween these Powers and Eussia, the men from 
Wilhelmstrasse have already forecasted this 
eventuality. Such things hidden from the eyes of 
the plodding citizen in his complacent world are 
the momentous problems of the diplomatic spy. 



Activities in the European Capitals 41 

In 1912 the world learned with surprise of the 
Balkan League, the object of which was not so 
much the defeat of Turkey as the destruction of 
the Austro-Hungary Empire. These negotiations 
started in 1910 and were to all intents and pur- 
poses completed in the early summer of 1911. The 
conspirators of this thought there were only six or 
seven persons who knew about it, but they were 
greatly mistaken. I knew of every phase and 
stage of it— it was my business to know — as you 
will see in a later chapter. What would the 
French or English governments have given for the 
information that the Kaiser was to visit Tangier 
in March, 1905, or that the German gunboat Pan- 
ther was going to visit Agadir in 1911? Clearly 
these two important events were not decided in a 
week or even a month. Yet when the Kaiser ap- 
peared at Tangier on the 31st of March, 1905, and 
delivered his menacing speech, not only public 
opinion of Europe, even Cabinets of the Great 
Powers were taken completely by surprise. So 
was Monsieur de Selves when a secretary of Ger- 
many's Embassy in Paris paid him a visit on the 
5th of July, 1911, and casually notified him that 
his government had decided to send the gunboat 
Panther to Agadir. 

It shows that the Diplomatic Espionage of 
France, England, and Eussia are hopelessly inefifi- 
cient. In contrast with the inefficient English, 



42 Revelations of an International Spy 

French or Eussians the German Government 
knows of every move, plan, scheme, secret treaty, 
and secret convention of any and all countries. 
Even the uninitiated will see the importance of 
this. But it is not only these matters of high di- 
plomacy the unraveling and discovery of which 
is the duty of diplomatic espionage; there are 
others equally important. 

The greatest possible demand is made on the 
intelligence, resourcefulness, daring, shrewdness, 
tact, cunning, of the diplomatic spy. He must be 
a man of the world, of good address, who can move 
and have his being among ambassadors, ministers, 
and meet them as their equal. He must, above all, 
have a thorough knowledge of foreign affairs, of 
political questions, whether they relate to the 
Macedonian question with all its intricacies, or the 
influence of French colonial expansion upon the 
European balance of power. 

I can pride myself on the fact that I have been 
employed in some of the most momentous diplo- 
matic moves and events between 1906-1911 with 
entire and unqualified success. 

Many diplomats and statesmen when reading 
their respective names in the narrative now to 
follow will remember me with amazement and not 
a little bewilderment. 

A word to the permanent officials in Paris, Brus- 
sels, Copenhagen, Belgrade, Bucharest, and the 



Activities in the European Capitals 43 

other places in Europe : They need not fear that 
I may betray them, or disclose their names. I 
know the dangers and predicaments they would 
find themselves in. They can count upon my dis- 
cretion at any rate in the part of this narrative 
which deals with their names. And now after all 
the preliminary ** coaching,'' let us journey into 
the underground labyrinths of modem diplomacy. 



CHAPTER II 

HIDDEN DIPLOMATIC MOVES IN MANY PAKTS OP 
THE WOULD 

(Secret Service Work — March-June, 1906) 

THE Hotel de la Poste, in whicli I made my 
headquarters on my first mission to Brus- 
sels in March, 1906, is one of the old- 
fashioned, comfortable hotels one still finds in 
Europe. In this modest hostelry there is excel- 
lent service, superb cooking, and a *^cave admi- 
rable," which more than compensate for the 
questionable advantages of luxurious furniture, 
superabundance of mirrors and page boys — the 
stock in trade — of latter-day *^ palace hotels." 

One evening shortly after my arrival I was hon- 
ored at dinner by the presence of the Honorable 
Percy Wyndham, First Secretary of the British 
Legation, in whose conversation, under the stim- 
ulus of excellent Clos Veugeot, I hoped to dis- 
cover some fresh gossip of the chancelleries. I 
ventured to get his complexion of mind on the 
Morocco Conference. 

**You diplomats, Wyndham, are past-masters 
in the art of coining phrases — ^look at this Mo- 

44 



Hidden Diplomatic Moves 45 

rocco Conference heralded by an ecstatic press 
and by a flood of after-dinner oratory as a 
permanent guarantee of peace. What has it 
brought? Nothing, my dear sir, but tension and 
crisis. I am sorely afraid it is the precursor of 
an Anglo-Eussian understanding, which in turn 
will be the inevitable step toward war — a great 
European war. What a policy is this for Glad- 
stone's party to father!'' 

*' That's all very well, my dear fellow, but don't 
forget it is a question of expediency for us. We 
have made up our differences with France and 
are on the way to do so with Kussia — you see, it 
is a kind of insurance policy against the German 
menace." 

^*Look here, Wyndham, you are not addressing 
a public meeting in England or the House of 
Commons — leave your sophistries; they are out 
of place with me. By entering into a treaty with 
Germany's western neighbor," [France], *^ nego- 
tiating one with her eastern" [Kussia], **you 
create a German menace. In other words, you 
provoke her, you push her — it seems deliberately 
— into an antagonistic, aye, hostile attitude." 

* * That may be so, ' ' he said, lifting his glass and 
smiling across to me, *^but perhaps it fits into our 
policy. ' ' 

I did not push my advantage. It would have 
been unwise then to pursue the subject further. 



46 Revelations of an International Spy 

Under the casual and informal guise of irrespon- 
sible table-talk I could safely approach the sub- 
ject in our frequent meetings. His unguarded 
admission was significant in light of my instruc- 
tions from **D/^ and the questions, which my 
readers will recall, had determined to answer: 

1. Did England and France, under the influ- 
ence of the Morocco crisis of last year, contem- 
plate or conclude an alliance directed against 
Germany! If so, what was to be its scope and 
what were its provisions! 

2. What was the nature of the feelers and ne- 
gotiations going on between France and England 
and Eussia, with a view of extending the Entente 
Cordiale! 

3. What was discussed in the last week of Jan- 
uary in Windsor Castle between King Edward 
VII and the Ambassadors present there! 

4. What was behind the Congo agitation! 

I received these instructions during the last 
days of March, 1906. I set to work. Prior to 
this I had had several cautious conversations 
with Sir Arthur Hardinge, British Minister in 
Brussels. I should point out here and now that 
each embassy and legation is always kept in- 
formed by the Government of the general direc- 
tion of their foreign policy, sudden changes, and 
flanking movements, though they may not be ac- 



Hidden Diplomatic Moves 47 

quainted with all the details and secret negotia- 
tions. If, for instance, there is a meeting of 
minds in England and Russia on a pertinent topic, 
it is important that the British Minister in Brus- 
sels should know of it; for the Congo question, 
the employment of Belgians in the Persian cus- 
toms (the historic spot of Anglo-Russian rivalry), 
may all be used as a lever in any desired direc- 
tion. Again, the British Ambassador in Con- 
stantinople may by these timely words be warned 
not to oppose too vehemently or openly the habit- 
ual intrigues of his Russian colleague at the Sub- 
lime Porte. Even ministers in remote stations, 
such as Buenos-Aires or Mexico City, are kept in- 
formed of the various moves, but not as minutely 
as the European embassies or legations, who are 
important pawns on the diplomatic chessboard. 

Now, during my frequent conversations with 
Sir Arthur Hardinge (I could always find a pre- 
text of seeing him in connection with my economic 
investigation), I always criticized England's for- 
eign policy — and greatly deprecated the Entente 
Cordiale. This was by no means a pretended 
criticism — it was my honest conviction. I could 
never draw Sir Arthur into a general conversa- 
tion — I did not really try. I was quite satisfied 
if I could learn from him sufficient to enable me 
to pump Mr. Wyndham. After all, the despatches 



48 Revelations of an International Spy 

from or to the Foreign Office in London were de- 
ciphered by Mr. Wyndham, so, of course, he knew 
all. 

I remember once during this time (in April) 
having called on Sir Arthur Hardinge at the le- 
gation in Kue de Spa on some matter connected 
with my economic investigation. The day before 
there was a rather ironical, almost cynical, edi- 
torial in the Times about Germany's inconsistent 
and noisy foreign policy, quite particularly as re- 
gards Morocco; how they had climbed down, etc. 
I called His Excellency's attention to its bril- 
liance and mordant satire. 

''Cherchez Vltalie," His Excellency smilingly 
remarked. 

To me this was a tremendously significant re- 
mark, for it was evident, even to the most casual 
newspaper reader, that Italy was not acting loy- 
ally to her partners at the Algeciras conference. 
Knowing that the attitude of a government on 
any question of international importance is at 
all times determined by material considerations, I 
could perceive the impelling influence behind this 
''cherchez Vltalie!'^ A few days afterwards Mr. 
Wyndham was my guest at luncheon. Over our 
coffee, liqueur, and cigars said I : 

**Did you read that ironical editorial in the 
Times a few days ago — on Germany, the bete noir 
of Printing House Square I" 



Hidden Diplomatic Moves 49 

**Yes, it was very good, quite funny,'* he re- 
marked. 

*^This Algeciras conference,'' I said, *^will 
mean trouble in the future, I am afraid. The de- 
flection of Italy from her partners in the Triple 
Alliance will be interpreted by Germany, and 
rightly so as a further attempt to isolate her. 
And she will not submit to it. Do you really sup- 
pose that she does not know that Italy has been 
squared for her support and promise!" 

**You mean the 500,000 men?" 

I said ^'yes" — although I did not know what 
500,000 men, or what they meant at all. But I 
posed as one who knew. 

**Now, Italy may consider the prize worth her 
promise and support, but any attempt to honor 
the promissory note will be prevented by Ger- 
many — who, conscious of her strength and posi- 
tion, will not submit to continual snubbing and of- 
fense." 

^*My dear fellow, matters will not be driven to 
extremes until the ring around her is strong and 
completely forged," was his ominous reply. But 
I did not yet know who or what those 500,000 men 
were. 

*^I hope," I continued, ''that Grey makes no 
mistake, for, after all, he might think the ring 
forged and strong and it might turn out to be 
weak. Consider the disastrous, the irretrievable, 



50 Revelations of an International Spy 

consequences. In a future war 500,000 men here 
or there will have no decisive issue. '* 

*^I do not agree with you. Five hundred thou- 
sand Italian soldiers thrown against the Germans 
in South Germany — ^via Austria — ^will threaten 
Germany *s lines and communications in Alsace — 
a very decisive theater of war in the future con- 
flict.'' 

I was getting on quite well. After this, it did 
not take me long to find out all about the 500,000 
men. Here is the full story. During the diplo- 
matic skirmishings preceding the opening of the 
Algeciras conference, Italy's support was gained 
on the following understanding : Should war re- 
sult between France and Germany or should the 
tension between the two result in a European con- 
flagration, Italy would come to the aid of France 
with 500,000 men. In return she was promised 
Tripoli (at the first opportune time), besides con- 
cessions on the vexed question of Abyssinian rail- 
ways, so long opposed by England. The question 
of *^ economic concessions" in Asia Minor received 
** favorable reception," with an assurance of 
** sympathetic consideration" when the time came, 
but nothing more substantial. 

This is by no means the only Franco-British 
intrigue behind the scenes of Algeciras. Count 
Cassini, the Russian Plenipotentiary, and Sir 



Hidden Diplomatic Moves 51 

Arthur Nicholson, the British Plenipotentiary and 
newly appointed British Ambassador at St. Pet- 
ersburg, continued to discuss the bases of a gen- 
eral understanding between the two countries. 
These negotiations were started soon after the 
Anglo-French treaty of 1904, but they were dis- 
continued during the Eusso-Japanese War. 

Mr. Huybers, the correspondent of the Times 
in Belgium and Holland between 1900-09, also 
gave me a most valuable and startling piece of 
information. I was introduced to Mr. Huybers 
by Sir Arthur Hardinge, who took me in the lega- 
tion's carriage to him — a fact which must have 
had its effect on Mr. Huybers. Indeed, Mr. Huy- 
bers used to converse freely with me and commu- 
nicate to me anything of importance. He did 
this without any arriere pensee; it was nothing 
but an exchange of views between two men who 
agreed on the subject. Mr. Huybers is a gentle- 
man of high moral standard and he thoroughly 
disagreed with English foreign policy and the pol- 
icy of his paper. Indeed, it was this disagree- 
ment that led him to sever his connection with the 
Times, 

In justice to Mr. Huybers I must say that he did 
not know who I really was, yet, on the other 
hand, he never bound me to secrecy — so I do 
not think I should withhold the information he 



52 Revelations of an International Spy 

gave me. Deploring the anti- German direction 
of Britain's foreign policy, lie plaintively re- 
marked : 

*^The Times has fallen low from its once high 
tradition. Just imagine! Mr. (now Sir) Valen- 
tine Chirol, Director of Foreign Department of 
the Times (1899-1912), gave me instructions to 
suppress all news tending to improve Anglo-Ger- 
man relations and to bolster up everything that 
might embitter it.'' This same instruction was 
given to all European Times correspondents. 

I was staggered. Can any one imagine a more 
Machiavellian, aye, diabolical scheme to sow dis- 
trust, dissension, and hatred between two great 
nations? But his own comment on this informa- 
tion is even more startling. 

^*I have reasons to say that Lord Esher is be- 
hind this inspiration." Lord Esher, it should be 
remarked, was King Edward VII 's unofficial but 
trusted and confidential adviser. I considered 
this information of such importance that I imme- 
diately sent it on to *^D" — not waiting for the 
completion of my report. It was this very same 
Times which gave great prominence to the pub- 
lication of an appeal for better relations between 
Britain and Germany issued on January 12, 1906, 
by a very influential committee of prominent Brit- 
ons and Germans. Concurrently with these little 
intimate dinner parties with Mr. Wyndham, or 



Hidden Diplomatic Moves 53 

Mr. Huybers, and my rather frequent visits to 
Sir Arthur Hardinge at the British Legation, I 
also had several illuminating interviews with 
Monsieur Sam Wiener, Belgian Senator. The 
Senator always received me with utmost cordial- 
ity and discussed questions of international im- 
portance quite freely, due, no doubt, to the fact 
that I was introduced to him by Sir Arthur Har- 
dinge. It should be pointed out that the Senator 
was one of King Leopold II 's confidential advis- 
ers and from him I learned these hidden cracks in 
the lava: 

During the acute stages of the Morocco crisis 
of 1905, England and France inquired of the Bel- 
gian Government what would be their stand in 
case of an armed conflict between France and Ger- 
many and what political attitude they would as- 
sume. The reply, inspired by King Leopold II — 
an inveterate opponent of British policy through- 
out the world, as we shall see later — was as fol- 
lows: Belgium would mobilize her forces to de- 
fend her neutrality; as to her political attitude, 
that would be determined by the circumstances of 
the moment. 

This reply did not in the least satisfy England 
and France, and they suspected, with good reason, 
as M. Wiener added, that, should Germany in- 
vade Belgium, King Leopold would simply pro- 
test but would not oppose it by force of arms. 



54 Revelations of an International Spy 

This was one of the reasons of the sacrifice of M. 
Delcasse by the French Government in 1905 and 
the acceptance by them of Germany's proposal 
of a European conference for the settling of 
the Morocco question. France, under such cir- 
cumstances, would have been crushed before she 
was fully mobilized. For my own satisfaction I 
wanted to have confirmation of this from Sir Ar- 
thur Hardinge. He, indeed, confirmed this and 
added. 

* * Indeed, Belgium is in an unfortunate position. 
If she is not amenable to France, she is bullied by 
her and threatened with tariff wars and the like. 
If she is, she is threatened by Germany, and vice 
versa.'' 

Senator Wiener assured me that the renewal 
and intensity of the Congo agitation in England 
was secretly inspired and fanned by the clique 
of conspirators in England who were working 
against friendly relations with Germany. Sir 
Edward Grey made repeated and determined ef- 
forts in vain, to force King Leopold to abdicate, 
for it was feared that in case of war he would 
simply protest against Germany's invading Bel- 
gium but would not offer armed resistance. In 
addition to the persons already mentioned I estab- 
lished excellent relations with several high per- 
manent officials in the Ministry of Foreign Af- 
fairs, and Ministry of Finances. The usefulness 



a l'Ambassa<ie B: 

.r-is Strang«r«s dt 



\ ^-^^ CfX^AJUo AMi^ 



?jm, ^(X^£ 







:Mr. Lincoln's Credentials to the French Authorities Issued by 
the British Embassy at Paris. 



Hidden Diplomatic Moves 55 

of connection in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
will be self evident; but, it may be asked, why in 
the Ministry of Finances'? The reply is as fol- 
lows: Belgium was then governed — absolutely 
governed — by the Catholic party. They put 
their own nominees in all the important offices of 
state. King Leopold did not mind this as long as 
these officials did not interfere with his plans. 

In the Belgian Ministry of Finance there were 
two very high officials who were splendid channels 
for my secret inquiries. Both were anti-British 
by sentiment and conviction, both had in a special 
degree King Leopold's confidence and connected 
with the operations in Congo Free State. One of 
them was the Treasurer of the King's Household. 
The other was a maker and unmaker of cabinets 
behind the scenes. I did not, however, restrict 
my secret activities to Brussels. Paris, with Sir 
Francis Bertie and the British Embassy, was the 
center of British intrigue. Thither I went. In 
fact, I continually traveled between Paris and 
Brussels, for I had to investigate both countries 
for Mr. Eowntree. 

To the British Embassy in Paris I had a special 
letter of recommendation from Sir Edward Grey, 
through which I obtained from the Embassy the 
letter reproduced in these pages. 

But I found my secret service work much more 
difficult here than in Brussels. Sir Francis Ber- 



56 Revelations of an International Spy 

tie, the Ambassador himself, was miapproach- 
able; I did not see him at all until more than a 
year afterwards. Mr. O'Beirne, the First Secre- 
tary, and Mr. Grahame, the Third Secretary, were 
very reserved, and I did not succeed to establish 
with them the same degree of intimacy as I did 
with Mr. Wyndham in Brussels. I did not pro- 
gress far enough to invite them or to be invited 
by them to dinner. My relations were restricted 
with them to Mr. Eown tree's investigations — ^un- 
til in the fall of 1907, when at last I succeeded in 
being received by Sir Francis Bertie. But the 
circumstances and history of this will be dealt 
with in a later chapter. 

My inability to get on the inside of the British 
Embassy in Paris compelled me to adapt new tac- 
tics. I decided I would use the British Legation 
in Brussels for the unraveling of British Secret 
Diplomacy and with the information thus gained 
and through the instrumentality of the British 
Embassy in Paris, establish inside connections 
with High Permanent Officials particularly at the 
Ministry of Interior and at the Palais d'Orsay 
(French Foreign Office). Permanent officials in 
France play a much more important role in the 
administration and government of the country 
than anywhere in Europe. For in France minis- 
tries are short lived and newcomers have to quit 
their posts before even familiarizing themselves 



Hidden Diplomatic Moves 57 

with the merest routine. Another evil in the 
French ministries — an evil which is of the great- 
est possible use for foreign spies — is the fact that 
many, if not most, of the high and highest perma- 
nent posts are given to political proteges. These 
high officials do not take a very great inter- 
est in their work, nor have they in many cases the 
requisite qualifications for their particular post. 
Their work consequently is relegated to badly paid 
subordinates — an easy prey to foreign gold. 

M. Clemenceau, on becoming Prime Minister in 
October, 1906, tried to remedy this glaring evil 
as far as his ministry (the Interior) was con- 
cerned — but he only succeeded during his tenure 
of office. Most of these subordinates were in my 
pay and if I were to mention names — ^well, France 
has not had such a scandal before, though she is 
very prolific in poHtical scandals. My name is 
well remembered in every ministry in Paris. 

Political journalism plays a more important 
part in France than in any other country. Many 
of France 's ministers rose from the ranks of these 
journalists, notably M. Delcasse. Now these 
journalists in France really know things, which 
again is due to a peculiarity of social life in Paris. 
The political salons of yore are dead, but it would 
be a great mistake to think that the political salon 
is extinct. No! It survives and thrives in an- 
other form. And since in Paris women play a 



58 Revelations of an International Spy 

most important part in every phrase of life, politi- 
cal gossip is much more abundant in Paris than 
anywhere else. 

These journalists are, needless to say, every- 
where, and pick up ' * secret ' ' titbits which give one 
a good bearing as to how and where to pursue 
one's more thorough inquiries for political and 
diplomatic secrets. Another characteristic of 
Paris life, as already mentioned, is the ubiquity 
of women, mondaines and demi-mondaines. 

A secret service agent, such as I was, must well 
study and fathom all the peculiarities of his 
ground before he makes a single move. Only a 
thorough knowledge of locality will enable him to 
spread his nets and weave his webs successfully. 
The political writers on the Temps and Journal 
de Debats were, most of them, known to me and 
I to them. But I was only known to them in my 
capacity as Mr. Eowntree's investigator and as 
being supported by His Britannic Majesty's 
Government and the French Grovernment. M. 
Jacques Bardoux, to mention but one of these po- 
litical writers, will now be surprised to hear who 
I really was. I am sure that he would not have 
invited me to luncheon to his house and spoken 
so freely to me on many occasions about France's 
political aim, the Entente Cordiale, the Triple 
Entente, and many other portentous subjects. 

Nor, do I think he would have introduced me to 



Hidden Diplomatic Moves 59 

so many useful persons. In particular, I mean 
the gentleman who had just returned from a secret 
mission in Africa and who was present at that 
dainty little luncheon in his flat. Par bleu! no 
harm done. All the same I am obliged to him for 
services rendered. In Brussels I got most, if not 
all, my secret information, without paying for it — 
thanks to the cordial, and in some cases intimate, 
relations I established with all and sundry per- 
manent officials. In Paris this proved to be im- 
possible, except in very few cases. Hence, other 
methods had to be tried. To gain m^^ end — every- 
thing else was immaterial — ^I enlisted the services 
of demi-mondaines in Paris. I had to get an- 
swers of a definite nature to the questions re- 
peatedly referred to. I had already collected 
much secret data in Brussels and now in Paris 
I learned that many things which happened dur- 
ing and immediately prior to the Boer "War, and 
which will be described presently, had brought 
home to British statesmen the impossibility of 
continuing the much vaunted policy of ** splendid 
isolation. * ' 

They had to choose between a leaning on the 
Dual Alliance (Russia-France) or the Triple 
AUiance ( Germany- Austria-Hungary-Italy). In 
order to present to the reader a coherent, clear 
story of the secret political moves and diplomatic 
tangle, I will group the various items under dif- 



60 Revelations of an International Spy 

ferent headings and present them as a continuous 
narrative. Needless to say, the information did 
not come to me in this form, but is pieced together 
from data obtained through months of arduous 
work. 

I. FAK EASTEEN PEOBLEMS 

The conclusion of the Chinese- Japanese War on 
the 17th of April, 1895, by the signing of the Peace 
Treaty at Shimonoseki, starts a new epoch in the 
Far East. It brought Japan as a rising military 
and naval power before the attention of a sur- 
prised world. Two things happened as a conse- 
quence of this war, which proved to be two new 
factors in the shaping not only of world policy 
but of the relations of all the Great Powers to 
one another. These two things were : 

1. The acknowledgment of the independence of 
Korea. 

2. The Eusso-Franco-German combination, 
which discarded the treaty of Shimonoseki and 
forced Japan to evacuate the Feng-Tien Penin- 
sula, one of her prizes of her successful war with 
China. 

Whenever two Powers acknowledge or guar- 
antee the independence of another weaker Power 
than themselves, it inevitably leads to rivalry, and 
very often to war, for the sole possession of the 
j^y gauranteed country by one of the guarantors. 



Hidden Diplomatic Moves 61 

Vide, Korea, Persia, Morocco, Egypt, Zanzibar, 
etc. The Eussian-French-German combination 
tore up the Treaty of Shimonoseki and com- 
pelled Japan to give up Feng-Tien with Port 
Arthur on the pretext that Japanese possession 
of this peninsula would be a menace against the 
capital of China and would render Korea's inde- 
pendence merely nominal. Now, the great Pow- 
ers, it can safely be said, are never actuated by 
high ideals nor are their actions ever disinter- 
ested. That this case was no exception to this 
rule was proved on the 6th of March, 1898, when 
Germany compelled China to lease to her Kiao- 
chau and a zone of fifty kilometers around it for 
ninety-nine years, and on the 27th of March Eus- 
sia took possession under a forced lease of Port 
Arthur, the same Port Arthur which Japan was 
prevented from keeping by these self -same Powers. 
And France? Oh, yes, she got her share too. 
On April 11, 1898, she exacted a lease from China 
of the Bay of Kwang- Chow- Wan. The meaning 
of this scramble was manifold. Apparently it 
was the first concerted attempt between Eussia- 
France and Germany for the partition of China. 
Under the surface and the secret history of this 
step by the three Powers concerned, was a deep- 
laid, double scheme. The three Powers collec- 
tively had a common aim, viz., an anti-British pol- 
icy which was put to a test in the Far East bjj 



62 Revelations of an International Spy 

taking a foothold there. But in addition to this 
collective aim, each one of the three Powers pur- 
sued a scheme of their own. 

Eussia sought expansion in the Far East with 
an ultimate aim of reaching a warm water-port, 
her ambition for two hundred years; and inci- 
dentally to swallow Manchuria and Korea. Eus- 
sia induced China to enter into a secret treaty with 
her, granting her certain rights and privileges 
in Manchuria, already in 1895. France, as an 
ally of Eussia followed her, but went there chiefly 
against Britain. Germany, true to one of Bis- 
marck's pet schemes, encouraged France in her 
colonial expansion, hoping that thereby French 
energy and enterprise might be diverted from Al- 
sace-Lorraine. Germany also greatly encouraged 
Eussia to expand into the Far East for the fol- 
lowing reasons : 

1. She hoped that England and Eussia might 
come into collision there. 

2. Eussia, as France's ally, should, according to 
German aims, be always busy and absorbed else- 
where than in Europe, thus weakening the mili- 
tary power of the Dual Alliance (Eussia-France). 

3. Germany, with her policy of ** re-insurance " 
(a heritage of Bismarck), always found it difficult 
to reconcile, to harmonize, and satisfy Eussian 
and Austro-Hungarian aspirations on the Bal- 
kans. 



Hidden Diplomatic Moves 63 

It was from this point of view, more than from 
any other, imperative for Germany to divert Eus- 
sia ^s attention from the Balkans in which she ad- 
mirably succeeded until the Eussians were de- 
feated by the Japanese in 1905. Then again they 
turned to the Balkans, with dire consequences for 
the whole world, for, as we shall see, the dreaded 
collision between Austria-Hungary and Eussia, 
long warded off, happened at last. 

Great Britian was not slow to discern the moves 
and compelled China to lease to her Wei-hai-Wei 
in April, 1898, on the terms and for a period equal 
to the Eussian lease of Port Arthur. These 
events led to what Lord Salisbury so admirably 
called the *^ Battle of Concessions'' amongst the 
powers in China. Space and other considera- 
tions prevent me from entering into details of this 
interesting period of China's history. But a per- 
manent treaty with Eussia is an impossible thing. 
The wonder is that there are always statesmen 
who are blind enough to enter into such a treaty. 
France and Germany soon saw that Eussia pur- 
sued relentlessly her own selfish policy. France, 
to her present undoing, never dared to oppose 
Eussia 's mad schemes in the Far East. But Ger- 
many began to distrust Eussia whom she herself 
helped to plant there. Britain, of course, had 
many and old reasons of distrusting Eussia. Yet 
King Edward and Sir Edward Grey, with their 



64 Revelations of an International Spy 

eyes closed, signed a treaty with her in 1907, 
which is one of the causes of the present war. 
But in 1900, during the Boxer Kebellion, the devil- 
ish uprising which was a work of Russia's secret 
agents, England and Germany, prompted by mu- 
tual distrust of Russia, drew together and signed 
an agreement on October 16th, with three main 
paragraphs : 

1. To uphold and maintain a policy of open 
door in China. 

2. Not to make use of present complications 
(Boxer Rebellion) for territorial advantages. 

3. They would take common steps for protec- 
tion if any other Power would do so. This was 
directed against Russia, who meanwhile poured 
troops into Manchuria, proclaimed Feng-Tien a 
Russian protectorate (November 11), occupied 
Niu-Chwang and Manchuria, but promised that 
these occupations should be temporary — a promise 
she never kept. On the contrary, she pushed in 
and in 1903 created a vice-royalty for the Far 
East (Admiral Alexeietf first Viceroy). Japan, 
who was so deeply humiliated by Russia, France 
and Germany in 1895, looked with growing con- 
cern upon Russia's expansion towards Korea and 
tried to arrive at an understanding with her. 

In 1901, the Marquis Ito, Japan's foremost 
statesman, came to Europe and went to St. Pet- 
ersburg, offering an alliance to Russia. Russia 



Hidden Diplomatic Moves 65 

refused, whicli clearly showed to all concerned 
that she aimed at the conquest of Korea. Britain, 
cleverly using Japan's predicament, succeeded in 
entering into a treaty with Japan, January 30, 
1902. 

This was Great Britain's reply to Eussia's ex- 
pansion and to Germany's scheme to embroil her 
with Eussia. For, notwithstanding the Anglo- 
German agreement of 1900, Germany declined to 
support Great Britain in opposing Eussian expan- 
sion in Manchuria on the grounds that Manchuria 
did not form part of China proper. Any keen ob- 
server could see these moves, all except France. 
It was evident that Eussia 's greedy, not to say in- 
decent, behavior in the Far East would soon lead 
to an armed conflict between her and Japan, Brit- 
ain's ally. Eussia 's expansion in itself weakened 
Eussia as an ally of France and weakened France 
as an ally of Eussia in Europe. France was un- 
aware of the fact that in blindly supporting Eus- 
sian policy in the Far East, she was playing the 
game of Germany, as was brought home to her 
during the Morocco crisis, of 1905, which, as I will 
later show, was partly the result of Eussia 's de- 
feat by the Japanese the same year. Further- 
more, the milliards of French savings lent to Eus- 
sia for military purposes in Europe, were squan- 
dered on wild schemes in the Far East. And now, 
when France is fighting simply because Eussia 



66 Revelations of an International Spy 

made Servians case her own, in other words, in 
support of an attempted establishment of a virtual 
Eussian protectorate on the Balkans, she finds 
her ally not at all prepared. France is bleeding 
herself to death for a cause not her own. 

Immediately after the signing of the Anglo- 
Japanese Treaty in 1902, Japan invited Russia 
to discuss the position of the Far East. These 
discussions went on, but it became too clear to 
Japan that their respective viewpoints were an- 
tagonistic (October, 1903). It is well known that 
these difficulties led to the Eusso-Japanese War 
on the 8th of February, 1904. The history of this 
war is well-known. It ended with the defeat of 
Eussia; peace having been reestablished by the 
Treaty of Portsmouth, N. H., October, 1905. 
Prior to the signing of this treaty the Anglo- 
Japanese Treaty of 1902 was changed into an 
Anglo-Japanese Offensive and Defensive Alliance 
(12th of August, 1905). 

We must now leave the Far East and follow the 
thread of hidden diplomatic moves, converging 
around the same point in other parts of the world. 

II. ANGLO-FRENCH EIVALRY 

Having been worsted by United Germany in 
1871, France turned her attention to the building 
up of a colonial empire, particularly to the col- 
onization of Africa. This was the more natural, 



Hidden Diplomatic Moves 67 

as France already had the large colony of Algiers 
in North Africa. In 1882 she proclaimed a pro- 
tectorate over Tunis and in the same year occu- 
pied Mzab. 

In 1883 she sent an expedition to Senegal and 
Nigeria ; in 1884 she settled in the Congo ; between 
1882-1885 she settled in Djibuti (East Coast of 
Africa) ; in 1885-88 she conquered Ton-King and 
Annam. In 1894, the French Colonial Office was 
created and vast schemes of African colonization 
were broached, which should find their culmina- 
tion in a huge African empire stretching from the 
Atlantic to the Eed Sea and Indian Ocean right 
across the African continent; this scheme also in- 
cluded the absorption, if possible, of Abyssinia 
and the reclaiming of French influence in the 
regions of the Upper Nile. It should be pointed 
out that this time France and England were bitter 
enemies of centuries' standing. Indeed, French 
Colonial expansion was mainly directed against 
Great Britain. There were several collisions be- 
tween the two Powers, some of them nearly lead- 
ing them to war. 

In 1895, the English and French spheres of in- 
fluence met at Lake Tchad. Since 1893 France 
openly attacked Siam, which England considered 
as within her sphere of influence. But in 1896 
an agreement was reached between them on the 
Siamese question. In 1897 a number of threaten- 



68 Revelations of an International Spy 

ing collisions of English and French claims and 
undertakings in Nigeria took place, but they com- 
promised their differences by lengthy negotiations 
in Paris, which were concluded by a convention 
signed there on the 14th of June, 1897. 

Now we come to a chapter of Franco-British 
relationship which brought the two countries to 
the verge of war. For this and for the reason 
that no true story of this event has yet been pub- 
lished, I will relate it here, but exigencies of space 
compel me to be brief. 

III. FASHODA 

'^C^est Men vrai, mon cher Monsieur Lincoln,''^ 
affirmed my friend, whom we shall call Monsieur 
Brezey. 

We have just been having an argument over the 
Entente Cordiale between England and France, 
its origin, its cause, and its aim. With great em- 
phasis and evident knowledge, M. Brezey main- 
tained that the Fashoda incident was one of the 
causes of the Entente Cordiale. We were sitting 
on the veranda of a beautifully situated summer 
bungalow of King Leopold II, on one of his estates 
near Tervueren, which His Majesty graciously 
placed at the disposal of my friend M. Brezey, 
during the summer months each year. M. Brezey, 
let it be known, was the Treasurer of the King^s 
Household, administrator of the Crown Domains 



Hidden Diplomatic Moves 69 

of the Congo Free State, and one of the highest 
permanent officials in the Kingdom of Belgium. 
It is no mere figure of speech when I call M. 
Brezey my friend. We were friends. I was a 
frequent visitor in his charming home in Brus- 
sels and when during the summer months he took 
up his residence in the King^s bungalow I had a 
standing invitation of which I made frequent use. 
The bungalow was superbly situated in the Forest 
de Tervueren, surrounded by a delightful garden 
and vines. Many a pleasant hour did I spend 
there. M. Brezey was a devoted Catholic, and as 
such and for political reasons he was a Franco- 
phobe, although he was a Walloon — from the 
south of Belgium. In bitter tones he was wont to 
complain of the pin-pricks and bullying Belgium 
was subjected to by England, Germany, and 
France. 

^^Our situation, which is a political and geo- 
graphical factor, invites their jealousy. Belgium 
has ever been the battle field of Europe and I am 
afraid we shall be so in the future. We are the 
bone of contention of these three Powers. Ger- 
many looks with jealous eyes on Antwerp, whose 
trade is principally German. Our situation, our 
magnificent and cheap railways, our extensive 
canals, bring us the bulk of the transit trade of 
Central and South Germany. To divert this the 
Germans have built many canals connecting their 



70 Revelations of an International Spy 

rivers and created the Port of Emden. But all 
in vain. Antwerp and Eotterdam are the great 
prizes Germany is coveting. As to France and 
England, they want to use us as a pawn in their 
anti-German schemes and because our gracious 
sovereign" — (he always spoke with great respect, 
almost veneration — of King Leopold II) — *^ con- 
sistently refused to do their behest, England 
fanned the Congo agitation into tremendous pro- 
portions, whilst France is continually carrying on 
a commercial war against us. England is one of 
the guarantors of our neutrality, as the diplomatic 
phrase goes; in fact, she created us against 
French aggression from the south. During the 
past few years'^ — (this conversation took place in 
1906) — *^she and France are trying to convert us 
into their advance post against Germany.'* 

I had always listened with deep interest to his 
expositions of international intrigues — his posi- 
tion and influence gave authenticity to his words. 
He was an ardent patriot and often he spoke with 
a tinge of bitterness in his voice. He distrusted 
all the big neighbors of Belgium. He did not be- 
lieve their protestation of friendship. The poli- 
cies of the Great Powers, he said, have always 
been immoral. ^^They trample — all of them — 
upon the weak and brutally brush aside the rights 
of small nations, whom each one of them considers 



Hidden Diplomatic Moves 71 

his pawn, by divine right as it were, for the execu- 
tion of their high-handed schemes. ' ' 

When he declared that the Fashoda incident, 
which, as will be remembered, brought England 
and France to the brink of war, was really the be- 
ginning of the Entente Cordiale, I burst out into 
laughter, remarking: 

'^Vous n^etez pas hien informe cette fois si, mon 
cher Monsieur Brezey'' — in order to draw him. 
He reaffirmed his statement, as reproduced at the 
head of this chapter. A lively discussion ensued 
between us. I knew some phases of the Fashoda 
incident, but I also knew that my knowledge was 
not complete. So I drew my friend into an argu- 
ment — carried on by both of us with vivacity, 
irony, and much force — thanks to his superb Bur- 
gundy. 

M. Brezey, in addition to his other talents and 
accomplishments, was the greatest wine connois- 
seur of clarets and Burgundies. He could tell 
you whether it was genuine, whether it was a 
Chateau Lafitte or Haut-Brion — a Clos Veugeot 
or Chambertin — yea, he could tell you the year of 
vintage. He made a study of it, both theoreti- 
cally and practically. The opening of an old 
bottle of Burgundy was a ceremony and a cele- 
bration. It was carefully glided into a basket 
from its shelf where it had lain perhaps for thirty 



72 Revelations of an International Spy 

or forty years, carried by his ^'dean'' upstairs 
more carefully than a trained nurse would han- 
dle a new-born infant, put on the table, un- 
screwed by a patent screw-driver so that the 
bottle would not be shaken in the least, and then 
poured out into the glasses by handling the 
basket. The dust collected on the bottle during 
all these decades was left undisturbed, lest by re- 
moving it the bottle might be shaken. That would 
have amounted to nothing less than sacrilege in 
the eyes of my friend. When once the wine was 
poured out — it was drunk 1 No, not at all. First, 
he raised his glass, beheld the color of the ^ ^ King 
of Wines,'' would remark that it was either good, 
or slightly troubled, or perfectly clear. The next 
act was to place the glass to his nostrils, and if 
the '^bouquet" of the wine was to his satisfaction 
he would exclaim with ecstasy, ^^C'est superb! 
Allans! Buvons nous a voire sante!'' Now if 
you should empty the glass at once you would 
surely have committed another sacrilege in his 
eyes. You can do that with Ehine wine, beer or 
old Claret, but not so with this acme of perfec- 
tion — old Burgundy. It was indeed a ceremonial 
of Bacchus. Burgundy must be enjoyed, not 
simply *^ drunk" was one of his maxims. 

Under this genial glow he told me his version 
of the Fashoda aifair, amidst my interruptions, 
contradictions and questions — as he had it from 



Hidden Diplomatic Moves 73 

King Leopold himself. Here is the true story of 
Fashoda — published for the first time. 

*^0n the 12th of May, 1894, Great Britain made 
a treaty with my sovereign. King Leopold II, as 
Sovereign of the Congo Free State, by which 
Great Britain granted a lease to His Majesty of 
a large area lying west of the Upper Nile, includ- 
ing the Bahr-el-Ghazal region and Fashoda. 
France, however, by threats and bullying and 
other shady transactions, prevented His Majesty 
from occupying the whole leased territory, as it 
would have prevented the carrying out of the am- 
bitious French schemes in the Upper Nile. The 
Congo State, in return, leased to Great Britain a 
strip of territory fifteen and one-half miles in 
breadth between the north end of Lake Tangan- 
yika and south end of Lake Albert Edward — ^this 
to insure the lines of communication between 
British possessions in Northern and Southern 
Africa. 

*^ Germany and France, acting in unison, pro- 
tested against this lease, and Great Britain had to 
modify it. France continued her threat to our 
king, as Sovereign of the Congo Free State, 
should he dare to occupy the whole territory 
leased to him by Great Britain. 

'*0n the 14th of August, 1894, His Majesty was 
compelled and induced by France to renounce cer- 
tain of his rights west of 30° East and north of a 



74 Revelations of an International Spy 

line drawn from that meridian to the Nile, along 
5° 30' North. Of the Bahr-el-Ghazal only the part 
known as the Lado Enclave could be occupied by 
King Leopold. This left the way open for France 
to the Nile and in June, 1896, Captain Marchand 
left France with secret instructions to lead an ex- 
pedition into the Nile Valley. On the 10th of 
July, 1898, he reached Fashoda, the capture of 
which was meant to be the first step towards the 
reestablishment of French influence in Egypt. 

*^This is how the great Powers treat their 
weaker neighbors,'' interrupted M. Brezey him- 
self. *^ France forced our king out of his own 
rights and immediately grabbed it. 

**0n the 2nd of September, 1898," he continued, 
*^Sir Herbert Kitchener captured Khartum and 
dispersed the Khalifa's army. Here he learned 
of the French flag flying at Fashoda." 

The subsequent stages of this Fashoda incident 
are well known; France threatened with war by 
Great Britain, withdrew on the fourth of Novem- 
ber from Fashoda and by the Anglo-French decla- 
ration of the 21st of March, 1899, France with- 
drew from the Upper Nile Valley. 

** During the negotiations between England and 
France, King Leopold revived his claim to the 
Bahr-el-Ghazal, as he was solely prevented by the 
insolent threats of France from occupying it," 
continued M. Brezey. ** France, although com- 



Hidden Diplomatic Moves 75 

pelled to retire by tlie superior forces of Kitchener 
and to give up for the time being the Nile Valley, 
nevertheless hoped that Leopold might occupy the 
Bahr-el-Ghazal. 

*' During the negotiations France inquired of 
Lord Salisbury whether Great Britain considered 
her lease with Leopold still in force. Just think 
of it! Great Britain and our king enter into a 
treaty which is upset by France. France then 
comes and grabs part of the territory; they take 
their stand on the sanctity of treaties (which they 
themselves prevented being carried out). They 
wanted our king to occupy the disputed territory, 
knowing that at some future time they might evict 
him. Indeed, they would not have yielded had 
Great Britain not given emphatic assurances that 
the treaty with His Majesty was still in force. 
Lord Salisbury had no intention of ever again 
giving up the Bahr-el-Ghazal. So he deceived 
France. 

<<To France's inquiry he replied, literally as 
follows: *The arrangement concluded with the 
King of Belgians exists and remains in full force. 
It has never been repudiated or annulled by Eng- 
land. It is true that the King of the Belgians 
was induced, without any consent on the part of 
Great Britain, to promise the French Government 
not to profit by this treaty beyond a certain limit ; 
but that concession on his part did not diminish 



76 Revelations of an International Spy 

the significance of the act as an assertion of her 
rights by England.' 

**So France withdrew, hoping that Leopold 
would reoccupy it, from whom she hoped to grab 
it at some future date. The Belgian contention 
was that the withdrawal of France from Fashoda 
cancelled any opposition to the official lease 
granted by England. In that view King Leopold 
was strengthened by Lord Salisbury's above dec- 
laration. This declaration, indeed, is a full and 
unequivocal confirmation of the original lease. 
But the battle of Omdurman had changed English 
views of the matter, and notwithstanding Salis- 
bury's declaration (made after Omdurman) King 
Leopold was greeted with the cry of ^ hands off' 
when his forces attempted to penetrate into any 
region outside the Lado Enclave." 

M. Brezey stopped, he puffed the smoke of his 
cigar with an effort into the air, raised his glass 
— I followed his example. ^ * Sa Majeste," he pro- 
posed. 

**This is all interesting," I said, **but how do 
you connect this with the Entente Cordiale?" 

* * The year after the Fashoda incident the Boer 
War started. Many things happened. France, 
still smarting under the humiliation of the Fa- 
shoda affair, became intensely pro-Boer. You 
recollect, of course, all the incidents." 

**Yes," I said, *^and I know of the proposed 



Hidden Diplomatic Moves 77 

European coalition against England, which suf- 
fered shipwreck on the opposition of the Kaiser.'* 

** Precisely, the Kaiser thought that through 
the Fashoda affair he might drive France and 
England even further apart and then gain or com- 
pel England's support to his colonial schemes. 

*^But he achieved just the reverse — drove 
France and England together — thanks to his im- 
pulsive temperament and the blunderings of Ger- 
man diplomacy." 

It was getting late and although I greatly en- 
joyed the company of my friend, his cigars, his 
Burgundy, the charming surroundings, the mystic 
stillness of the Tervueren forest by which we were 
surrounded — I decided to go. It was my method 
never to pursue a conversation too far at one sit- 
ting. This for many reasons. After an hour or 
two of conversation, my informants would natu- 
rally in their exposes pass over many details, the 
very things wanted, and furthermore my insist- 
ent questionings might look a little bit strange. 
I could have never obtained directly the informa- 
tion I did obtain from my friend Brezey. But I 
was his friend, I was introduced to him by the 
Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, I knew 
things — I moved and had my being amongst diplo- 
mats — he located me as his equal — as one of the 
privileged observers from behind the scenes. I 
had to be careful not to lose this, my status. 



78 Revelations of an International Spy 

So this night, as always, I broke off when he 
was quite ready and willing to go on with his con- 
fidential disclosures. I pretended not to be inter- 
ested at all. I merely had an argument with him, 
that was all. Besides, Madame Brezey appeared. 
''La politique, toujours la politique!'^ she re- 
marked reproachfully. So I got up and after the 
exchange of the usual French compliments, I drove 
home in his motor car. 

Shortly after I looked up my friend, Mr. Huy- 
bers, the Brussels correspondent of the Lon- 
don Times, I wanted to have his confirmation of 
M. Brezey 's version of the Fashoda affair, know- 
ing that Mr. Huybers was well qualified to speak 
on this matter. The Bahr-el-Ghazal affair — as 
the Fashoda affair was called in Belgium — ^was 
known to him as to few individuals. During 
the negotiations over this matter between Eng- 
land and King Leopold II, he was received in pri- 
vate audience by the latter. Mr. Huybers sup- 
ported the Belgian standpoint. Mr. Huybers 
not only confirmed M. Brezey 's versions, but 
added some rather interesting details. King Leo- 
pold, apropos of the Bahr-el-6hazal incident, said 
to Mr. Huybers: 

**With England might is always right. Now 
that my treaty with her does not suit her, Eng- 
land treats it as a scrap of paper — tearing it up. ' ' 



H 



^^ 



dear Sir, 

VIr. Bell ha 
more than 
Foreign De 
", hope we 
ministration, 
.s generally 
,g, I do not 
The Times 
ce himself 
ish interest 
view is no 
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(ling to Stan 






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My dear Sir, 

I am much obliged to you for your interesting Itttcr of Dec. 4, and I take 
note of the remarks made to you with regard to the Bahr el dhazal. Apart 
from the merits of this particular question, our :ittitude (and I do not 
speak here merely of 7 he Times, but of the Brit. Gov. and public opinion 
generally) must to some extent be governed by the fact that Belgium is 
always to be found acting as the prete-nom of Powers whose interests are 
antagonistic to ours. Take for instance the Liihan (Peking-Hankan) rail- 
way, which M. Delcasse described only the other day as a triumph of 
rrench diplomacy, though when we opposed it ab initio as a Franco- 
Kussian scheme under a Belgian cloak, we got letters from auhoritative 
quarters in Belgium protesting emphatically that it was a bona-fide Belgian 
^"i? P"'"*='y commercial undertaking. Take again the Customs in Persia, 
which are administered by Belgians acting avowedly as caretakers for 
Kussia. In these circumstances though we do not forget that the existence 
and maintenance of Belgium is a British interest, we can hardly be expected 
to meet her wishes always with the confidence and good will which she 
rather one-sidedly seems to expect. I will say nothing of the Belgian Pro- 
lioer ebullitions, for though they have undeniably produced some irritation 
amongst the public over here, 1 am not at all disposed to exaggerate their 
significance. 

Yours very faithfully, 
,, „ Valentine Chirol. 

M. h. Ht;VBERS, 

8 Rue de Bellevue, Brussels. 



My de 



Sir, 



Nov. 17, 1901. 



tvlr. Bell has handed on to me your letter of November 13 a 

(fo^ more than two years now) succeeded Sir D. Wallace as Un 

the /Foreign Dept. here. , 

hope we shall be able to find room for yom Itttu .ii. iii 

.\di!iinistration, if only to shov 



e Times a; 
ake himself th 

ri'' 
thai 



vhich M 
uthpiece. I kno' 
the 



Phil 



BriSsh interests all over the world than the King of the IuIk 

w is not, ' may add, confined to this omce. However, ini 
pou,r votre gouvcnie. Mr. Phipps has of course excellent rt. 
wishing to stand well at court. 

' * Yours very truly, 

\'alentine Ci 



Hidden Diplomatic Moves 79 

This was in 1901 — thirteen years before Great 
Britain made so much noise about a ** scrap of 
paper!'' 

A new treaty of the 9th of May, 1906, annulled 
the treaty of 1894 between King Leopold II and 
Great Britain, and the Bahr-el-Ghazal became an 
integral part of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. M. 
Huybers not only gave me the above rather pi- 
quant information, he also showed me two letters 
which he received from Mr. (now Sir) Valentine 
Chirol, Director of the Foreign Department of 
the Times (London). The letters were so inter- 
esting that I asked Mr. Huybers to let me have 
them — which, as they are not marked private, he 
did. I have never made any use of them. But in 
view of the British outcry about Belgium and 
neutrality, I thought it worth while to reproduce 
these letters in these pages. It is rather amusing 
to be told by the Times (in the name of the Brit- 
ish Government) that Belgium never behaves as 
a neutral country — ^though they now pretend to 
have gone to war to protect and defend this self- 
same neutrality. 



CHAPTER III 

HOW I OBTAINED THE SECRETS OF THE FRENCH 
FOREIGN OFFICE 

BEFORE I proceed with my narrative I 
must introduce two interesting persons, 
both of whom played a very important 
part as sources of secret diplomatic intelligence in 
what is to follow : 

**My Readers — Mademoiselle Celeste." 
**My Readers — Monsieur Legrange.'' 
Mademoiselle, I met at Ostend — the rendezvous 
of the upper 10,000 in summer, the queen of the 
watering places, gay, fashionable Ostend. It was 
in 1906. I often spent my week-ends there, not 
only to seek recreation and divertisement from 
the week's work, but principally on the lookout 
for a female secret agent. I was looking out for 
one of those demi-mondaines who combine to a re- 
markable degree intelligence, wit, shrewdness, and 
spirit of adventure with superb physical beauty. 
You find in Ostend during July and August (not 
since 1909 when the gaming laws were rigidly en- 
forced) the leaders of the demi-monde, those who 
in the late fall are in Paris; in winter, in Nice 

80 



Secrets of the French Foreign Office 81 

and Monte Carlo; in the spring, in Algiers; and 
in the summer, in Ostend or Trouville. 

I have met several of them ; but alas, when I put 
them through the various tests, they were all 
found wanting. At last my chance came, for 
chance it was. One afternoon I went into the 
superb Kursaal (the finest in the world) of Os- 
tend and straightway I steered towards the club 
privee, under which pseudonym the gambling 
rooms have to be understood. This had to be 
done in order to circumvent the Belgian gaming 
laws. Nobody except members could gain ad- 
mission — ^but everybody could become a member. 
So this day I went in, always looking out for a 
suitable medium — for I had important work in 
hand for which a female spy was indispensable. 

There was only one roulette table in Ostend and 
that one without zero. At all the other tables, 
baccarat a deux tables was being played. The 
roulette was merely there to draw the crowd — it 
was only open three times a day, one hour each 
time, the rest of the time one had to play bacca- 
rat. So this day when I got to the roulette table 
there was not only no seat to be had, but a crowd 
three deep was surging right round the table. I 
took up my position at the near corner behind a 
lady and a gentleman. 

*'Faites vos jeux, Messieurs, le jeu est fait, rien 
va plus^' — around went the ivory ball. I could 



82 Revelations of an International Spy 

not take part in the game, could simply not get 
anywhere near enough. The lady and gentleman 
in front of me — whom I thought were together — 
staked and lost. Again and again. 

*^Rien va plus/' sounded the monotonous and 
mechanical invitation of the croupier. 

^'Mettez voire argent sur le deux," ventured I 
forth with my advice to the lady in front of me. 

She turned around — great Scott 1 what a beauty ! 
and when she plaintively asked, ^^Croyez vous 
que je gagnerais/' with a melancholy look in her 
charming blue eyes, I thought I felt an electric 
shock. She followed my advice and she won! 
Strange coincidence. 

Now she turned to me for further advice. 

**Le neuf!" said I convincingly. 

She staked and won again. Many noticing my 
strange powers of prophecy, now eagerly asked 
me for a tip ! 

''L'onze/* I said as if I had been a real 
prophet. 

Truth is stranger than fiction. My third num- 
ber won. Never in all my gambling experience 
had I myself spotted three numbers in succes- 
sion. I now advised my follower to stop and 
leave the table. I myself felt compelled to leave 
it — for my renown as a prophet soon spread right 
around the table and the notoriety thus gained be- 
came decidedly embarrassing. I sauntered out, 



Secrets of the French Foreign Office 83 

went into the large baccarat room, and did not no- 
tice at all that I was followed by Lady Beauty. 

^* Monsieur y je dois vous r enter cier bien vive- 
ment, mais quelle chance/^ She said this so 
nicely, accompanied by a bewitching smile and 
enchanting twinkle in her eyes that I felt amply 
repaid for my jocular advice. 

^'Vous avez bien fait de discontinuer de jouer — 
et voire amif^' 

''Le quif' 

**Le Monsieur a cote de vous.** 

^^Luif II n'est pas mon ami, je ne le connais 
pas/* 

Oho! that was good information. Right away 
I invited her to tea, which she accepted. 

We sat down to a table near the glass door look- 
ing out on the light green North Sea and facing 
the orchestra ; there was just then the daily organ 
recital. 

She called herself Celeste. Celeste, the Charm- 
ing. For such was she. Of charming figure, 
golden blonde, sparkling blue eyes, and the dainti- 
est hands I have ever set my eyes upon. A fluent 
and entertaining conversationalist, chittering like 
a happy young bird under a blue sky, full of 
vivacity, verve and playfulness. She was my 
guest at dinner; I met her next day and we spent 
the day together ; that was Sunday. I had to re- 
turn to Brussels but promised to see her next Sat- 



84 Revelations of an International Spy 

urday. As a matter of fact I went out to Ostend 
on Wednesday afternoon. I was anxious to find 
out whether she was the much sought agent. 

I was not in a hurry to make up my mind; a 
wise selection meant very much to me; a mistake 
in selecting an unsuitable person might have fatal 
results. I met her very frequently, and when I 
could not spend the week-end at Ostend, she came 
to Brussels to spend the week-end there at my in- 
vitation. This went on for about five weeks — 
when she returned to Paris. Now we leave her to 
meet her again in Paris. 

Let us now turn to Monsieur Legrange. M. Le- 
grange hides the real identity of a '^fonction- 
naire'' (permanent official) at the Quai d'Orsay. 
I have in a preceding chapter pointed out the 
peculiarities of French ministries and the great 
influence permanent officials have, who are easy 
targets for a foreign spy. 

My frequent visits to several ministries in Paris 
gave me the necessary clue to the prosecution of 
my secret investigations. I had selected a fonc- 
tionnaire in the political department of the For- 
eign Office, one of the subordinates of Monsieur 
Louis, the Director of the Political Department 
there. M. Louis was some years later appointed 
French Ambassador in St. Petersburg, being the 
immediate predecessor of Monsieur Delcasse. 
M. Legrange was high up on the ladder, but was 



Secrets of the French Foreign Office 85 

not one of the highest. But all confidential docu- 
ments, instructions, reports, despatches, arriving 
or leaving M. Louis' department, had to pass 
through his hands. I knew him, he knew me— 
but only in my capacity as the Mr. Kowntree's 
secretary, pursuing economic investigations in 
France. I saw that open direct bribery Avas out 
of the question — I devised another plan. M. Le- 
grange was a man who loved the good things of 
life and would have gone to great length had his 
means allowed him. 

My plan now was to foster in him this *^ apti- 
tude'' and then lead him in my trap from which 
there was to be no escape. I often invited him 
to luncheon and dinners. Always in expensive 
hotels, to make him dissatisfied with his milieu. 
Once he was my guest at a luncheon with another 
fonctionnaire from the Ministry of the Interior at 
the Hotel Kitz in Paris; the lunch for us three 
having cost over three Inmdred francs with wines 
and cigars. In the evenings I used to take him to 
a box in the Grand Opera, the Opera Comique, 
or some other theater, to be followed by a supper 
party at some gay place. On every occasion I 
took him to a theater I was accompanied by an- 
other demi-mondaine, as my friend. I made him 
fairly envious. I also motored out with him to 
Enghien-les-Bains to the Casino there, that he 
should see me gamble. For him I was a gay 



86 Revelations of an International Spy 

Lothario, who seemed to live only for the pleas- 
ures of this life and seemed to have had plenty 
of money for the purpose. Then I would return 
to Brussels, leaving him to contemplate the in- 
equalities of life. I succeeded thoroughly in mak- 
ing him dissatisfied wdth his lot. I had gained 
my first step. I was spreading my net. I want 
here to remark that **D'' knew nothing of my 
methods; he never asked me how I obtained my 
information. 

Autumn again found me in Paris and one of my 
first visits was upon Celeste B , my fascinat- 
ing friend of the gaming table at Ostend, who had 
a charming apartment not far from the Porte de 
Vincennes. 

Celeste expressed surprise and genuine de- 
light in seeing me again. Of course, we dined 
together. We drove out to Negresco in Enghien- 
les-Bains. I met her every day. At last I 
thought the time had come to act. I began to 
talk to her about spies and spying. Of course, 
she was interested. Who is not? I used to tell 
her of famous women spies, of their wonderful 
achievements, fascinating work, extraordinary 
adventures. Soon the question that I was an- 
gling for was uncovered. 

**How can one like myself become a spyT' 

**Why do you ask me? How should I know?'' 
I said with polite indifference, dropping the sub- 



Secrets of the French Foreign Office 87 

ject for the moment. Touching lightly upon a 
different phase of women's skill in espionage at 
all our little dinner parties and junkets about 
Paris, I finally one day pulled out with great de- 
liberation a package of documents and gave her 
a glimpse of British embassy seals and other offi- 
cial letterheads. My preliminary tests had been 
satisfactory; her eagerness and excitement now 
made the desirable opening. 

* * Celeste, I have it in my power to make you a 
secret agent with splendid rewards for good 
work. * ' 

**You want tof She was quite beside herself 
with joy. 

I started unfolding to her a scheme. Desde- 
mona could not have listened more rapturously to 
Othello than Celeste listened to me. I told her 
of moving behind the scenes of high diplomacy, 
of watching and analyzing the moves of sover- 
eigns and ministers, of spying upon them, of un- 
raveling hidden and tangled webs of intrigues, of 
plotting schemes to undo the plots of others, of 
playing with men like with puppets, to gain the 
desired information that determined the fate of 
nations. 

**Now, Celeste, the first duty of every secret 
agent is to obey the orders of your superior with- 
out question,'' I said, bringing our conversation 
to an abrupt close. 



88 Revelations of an International Spy 

^^My first instructions are these: To-morrow 
afternoon about 5 p.m. come to the Taverne Roy- 
ale. If possible bring a gentleman friend with 
you, but when you leave the place, leave it alone. 
The gentleman must not go with you. You will 
see me in the Taverne Royale — on the * terrace' 
or inside with a gentleman. Be careful not to 
show by any sign whatever that you know me or 
have ever seen me. The gentleman with me is a 
high official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
His name is M. Legrange. For the next few 
weeks, months perhaps, you are to devote your- 
self to him.'' 

^^ Quelle aventure!'^ she exclaimed, jumping up 
and dancing about the room. 

*^You must understand, Celeste, this is serious 
business. You must forget yourself in this task. 
And I ask myself, ^Can you do it mthout losing 
your heart r He is a charming man." 

Her enthusiasm for this ugly commission made 
me shudder a bit inwardly when I thought of Le- 
grange. She could not fail, she protested vigor- 
ously, so I handed her a check for 2,000 francs, 
the advance in her first month of service, promis- 
ing more in the successful issue of our plan. She 
took an affectionate farewell of me — and I went 
rather in conflict with myself. 

Secret Service work is often cruel. I had per- 
haps little reason to doubt Celeste's loyalty— and 



Secrets of the French Foreign Office 89 

yet one never knows absolute security in es- 
pionage. So, unknown to her, I had arranged 
with her pretty maid to act as my shadow. In- 
deed, that very night before I met her and gave 
her full instructions to watch her mistress closely, 
to read the letters and notes Celeste received and 
sent out. When I handed her 250 francs as her 
first month's pay — she thought she was a mil- 
lionairess ! A simple Breton girl ! 

It was several months before I returned to 
Paris again, but I had suffered no anxiety about 
Celeste and the prodigious holes she was making 
in M. Legrange's bank account. Ninette, the 
maid, had written that *^ Monsieur Georges was 
playing a good deal and plunging always. ' ' There 
was apparently nothing to do but wait for his 
banliers to deny him the necessary accommoda- 
tion. 

One Saturday evening, soon after my return, 
I drove out to Enghien-les-Bains, to indulge in a 
little gambling at the Casino there. I find sitting 
around the green table after a week's work a great 
relaxation — ^particularly if you win. Well, this 
night I have had remarkable luck. In Enghien 
only baccarat a deux tables or chemins-de-fer are 
played. The bank belongs to whoever buys it. 
The Casino provides the rooms, tables, croupiers, 
etc., and collects of each 100 francs on the table, 
a progressive tax which is divided between the 



90 Revelations of an International Spy 

Town of Enghien (which owns the Casino) and 
the French Eepublic. In chemins-de-fer the bank 
goes round the table in strict order, save if a win- 
ning banker — after three rounds — ^wants to re- 
tire. In this case the bank does not go to his next 
neighbor, but is put up for auction and goes to 
the highest bidder. A retiring bank was for sale. 
Having had luck, I bought it for a rather big 
amount. The table was crowded, as the gam- 
bling was very high. The buying of a big bank 
riveted the attention of all on me. Two or three 
paces to my left amidst a surging crowd of on- 
lookers and occasional pointeurs stood my friend 
Legrange. He now noticed me, and disentangling 
himself from the crowd, came and stood right be- 
hind me. We exchanged very cordial greetings. 
I dealt out — the whole bank was staked by two 
American ladies. All was in suspense. Without 
looking at my cards I asked the orthodox ques- 
tion: 

^^Cardsr' 

**No,'' came back the reply. 

According to the rules of the game I now 
turned up my cards and had the seven of spades 
and the ace of diamonds. I had won. 

'^Faites vos jeux Messieurs, le jeu est fait, rien 
va plus,'' shouted mechanically the croupier. 

The same two American ladies doubled. I 
dealt out amid great excitement. They asked for 



Secrets of the French Foreign Office 91 

another card, which according to the rules of the 
game I dealt open. It was the four of hearts. 
Diable! I thought this time they would win. I 
turned up my two cards — they were the nine of 
diamonds and the ace of clubs! In other words, 
I had as yet nothing. I took a third and last card 
— ^the eight of spades! I had won again. Gam- 
blers are superstitious! They did not have the 
courage to play against me. There were six or 
seven small amounts staked, fortunately, for I lost. 
This gave me the desired opportunity to retire. 
I got up straightway and took Legrange by the 
arm and drew him into a secluded corner in the 
next room. There was a shocking change in his 
appearance. His beard was not so carefully 
clipped and trimmed as formerly, his step was 
heavy, his eyes unsteady, and his laugh hard and 
metallic. I noticed during conversation that al- 
though he was listening, his thoughts were wan- 
dering in far-away regions. 

Legrange was near a physical, financial, and 
moral collapse. I invited him to dine with me. 
He declined with profuse apologies and thanks, 
but *^his amie" was also there! He went to find 
her — whilst I went out and smoked a cigarette. 
I was introduced to her. Celeste acting her part 
with perfect detail. We dined in the Negresco 
restaurant together, but Legrange was not the 
alert and graphic conversationalist of a few 



92 Revelations of an International Spy 

months ago ; the burden upon his mind was not to 
be thrown off even for an evening's merry mak- 
ing. Towards the end of January I learned that 
Legrange was in the hands of usurers and I gave 
instructions to Celeste to be in Monte Carlo if pos- 
sible the second week in February and bring Le- 
grange with her. 

From Toulon I went on to Monte Carlo, ^*D'* 
arriving from Genoa the next day, having spent a 
holiday in Egy^pt. I wanted to see Celeste at 
Monte Carlo as I was ready for my coup. I ex- 
pected great events for 1907. I knew of Sir Don- 
ald Mackenzie Wallace's plots (on behalf of his 
royal master) in St. Petersburg the year before. 
I also knew of the negotiations of Mons. Isvolsky 
in Paris during his first visit to Paris after his 
appointment as Eussia's Foreign Minister (May, 
1906). I knew of the contemplated Mediter- 
ranean cruise of Edward VII and of the meeting 
that was arranged to take place between him and 
the King of Spain and the King of Italy, of the 
forthcoming visits of the Eussian squadron to 
English naval ports, of the negotiations pending 
and far advanced towards conclusion of agree- 
ment between England and Eussia, Eussia and 
Japan, France and Japan. 

Hence it was imperative that I should quickly 
be informed on all these matters. Evidently the 
net was tightening. Schemes of far reaching im- 



Secrets of the French Foreign Office 93 

portance were being discussed and decisions 
reached. Naturally I had all the facilities and op- 
portunities to keep myself informed on all these 
points — but my methods had to be cautious, cir- 
cuitous. It might take me weeks or months to get 
the whole story of all these events, yet it was 
highly desirable that I should know them as soon 
as reports reached the French Foreign Office on 
any of these coming events. I had to force mat- 
ters with Legrange. I had asked Celeste to be at 
Monte Carlo with him. I reasoned as follows: 
Legrange was already heavily in debt — if he should 
lose and lose heavily at Monte Carlo, he would 
probably ask me for a temporary loan. This is 
of everyday occurrence there. People who in 
other towns or under any other circumstances 
would on no account approach a friend for a tem- 
porary loan, do so without any compunction at 
Monte Carlo. I once loaned money to a Russian 
general at Monte Carlo — a chance acquaintance of 
mine — having only spoken to him two or three 
times in the Casino. He paid it next day. 

Now, Mons. Legrange, whom I knew well was a 
man who was rather proud and who liked to play 
the Grand Seigneur. We dined together, we had 
an occasional motor drive to Fontainebleau or in 
Normandy — ^we discussed politics, diplomacy, etc., 
but I was disappointed that — although hard 
pressed for money by his creditors and although 



94 Revelations of an International Spy 

requiring more and more for Celeste ^s extrava- 
gant tastes — he never approached me for money, 
though by hints and carefully guarded references 
I conveyed to him that I was open to suggestion. 
I, therefore, tried the Monte Carlo scheme. Eng- 
hien — ^well there is gambling there, but it is not 
a real gambling place. An official like Legrange, 
if he goes there at all, spends an hour or two and 
goes home. Nothing much can happen. But 
Monte Carlo is unique. It exists for gambling and 
gambling alone. Its raison d'etre is gambling. 
The whole atmosphere, organization of the place, 
entices you to gambling. I thought he might 
**bite on'' there. Celeste had strict instructions 
from me not to be friendly with me ; indeed, to play 
her role as if our meeting at Enghien had been our 
first and only one. 

When I arrived at Monte Carlo I put up at a 
small hotel under an assumed name. I knew, of 
course, at what hotel Legrange and Celeste were 
staying, and soon after my arrival I called her up. 
She was to go to the Casino that evening between 
9 and 9.30 p.m., stroll into the small salon on the 
right (through the trente-et-quarante room) ; I 
would be sitting at the roulette table. She was to 
walk round the table with Legrange until Le- 
grange saw me. So it happened. As soon as Le- 
grange noticed me, he was evidently very pleased. 
It is a psychological phenomenon that casual ac- 



Secrets of the French Foreign Office 95 

quaintances meeting in Monte Carlo are at once 
friends, whilst the latter evidence boundless joy at 
meeting there. 

' Ve suis enchante de vous voir ici, quel bonheur! 
Quand etes vous venusf Mais quelle chance!'' 
and so forth. I bowed to ** Madame*' and made 
my compliments. Where was I staying, eh I I was 
really staying at Cannes — I said — and only come 
over sometimes. I left the table and strolled out 
with Legrange to the terrace. It was a beautiful 
evening. Before us lay the moonlit Mediter- 
ranean, calm, balmy; we were surrounded by the 
beautiful Casino gardens. Legrange was melan- 
cholic, depressed. From past experiences I knew 
that this was a favorable opportunity to draw him 
into a discussion on international politics. With 
the stage set so auspiciously what more natural 
than that we should discuss Edward's forthcom- 
ing Mediterranean cruise. He was in a bitter 
frame of mind and went on complainingly : 

**I cannot understand our foreign policy. In 
order to gain back Alsace-Lorraine we support 
Russia's adventures in the Far East and say *yes' 
and *amen' to whatever she does in Europe. For 
the same reason, we support, nay we concoct with 
you English an anti-German policy. To my mind 
we should have gone a long step forward towards 
solving the Alsace question if after Fashoda we 
had accepted the advances of Germany and instead 



96 Revelations of an International Spy 

of offending her by the Morocco deal, made an hon- 
est understanding with her.'^ 

**I agree with you, such a policy on your part 
would have compelled France to join and become 
the friends of both you and Germany.'^ 

*^But, man cher Monsieur Lincoln, it was im- 
possible, yes, quite impossible. We Frenchmen 
are brought up with hatred towards everything 
German. We are taught to see in every move of 
Germany nothing but brutal aggression. It is in- 
stilled into us by our textbooks in school, by our 
parents, by our newspapers, by our statesmen and 
politicians. If the present policy of England and 
France will issue in war — and I cannot see how 
it can be prevented unless one side gives up the 
policy hitherto pursued — it will be useless to lay 
the blame on this thing or that event. It is des- 
tiny. We cannot escape it. We do not believe 
Germany ; we distrust her, we hate her. No agree- 
ment or facts can counteract the carefully nursed 
influences of school, home, and public life.'' 

This expose greatly impressed me. It hit the 
nail on its head. It was the truth! I tried to 
pump him about Edward's contemplated steps in 
France, Spain, and Italy during his forthcoming 
visits to these countries, but he knew nothing more 
than merely the outlines of the steps and the di- 
rection of policy. Evidently pourparlers were 
still going on. 



Secrets of the French Foreign Office 97 

We reentered the Casino as Celeste was playing 
there. The balmy air of the Eiviera, the quiet con- 
versation, revived both of us. We sat down at the 
trente-et-quarante table; Celeste remained at one 
of the roulette tables. Legrange won and won 
heavily. Next day — we met in the Casino by ap- 
pointment — Legrange lost, and so after a while 
he discontinued. He was evidently anxious to 
keep his gains. In the evening he lost bit by bit, 
and went deeper and deeper into the game. He 
became flurried and excited — he lost more. And 
then discontinued. And the next day he lost his 
all. He asked me for 1,000 francs till next day, 
having wired for money to Paris. Indeed, he re- 
paid me next day. Within two days he lost all 
his freshly received money and borrowed from me 
— ^until we met in Paris, where, I told him, I ex- 
pected to be within six or seven days. 

I remained in Monte Carlo one more day with 
**D.'' He impressed upon me the absolute neces- 
sity of obtaining precise information on Edward's 
contemplated steps, so that he might voice an op- 
position to them in the columns of the Nation, in 
Parliament, and in the Cabinet. Let Sir Edward 
Grey now recollect the heated arguments he had 
with some of the Cabinet Ministers in early sum- 
mer (or late spring), who even went to the Prime 
Minister and argued against Edward's policy. 
But they were fooled, left in the dark. 



98 Revelations of an International Spy 

^^Wlio were the lady and the gentleman I saw 
you almost constantly with?" asked ^*D.'' 

* ^ The lady my agent, the gentleman my victim I ' ' 
was my laconic reply. 

*^I believe that if half you do to get your infor- 
mation were known, you would be considered a 
Jekyll and Hyde.'^ 

*^No, sir!" I replied. *^I would be considered 
the very Devil himself." 

**D," of course, was by no means a child in the 
game of subterranean diplomacy, but — ^he will par- 
don me for saying this — ^he had the hypocritical 
attributes of his race — he liked to pretend to be 
shocked. We both returned to Paris, I remaining 
there while he continued to London. I met Le- 
grange in Paris and he promptly repaid me, but 
I knew from Celeste that he was terribly worried 
by his creditors. The time had arrived for ac- 
tion. I had to return to Brussels on Mr. Eown- 
tree's business. I returned to Paris with a sub- 
agent of mine, Heinrich. 

Heinrich was an interesting fellow. He had a 
dignified, almost aristocratic appearance, thanks 
to his height, broad shoulders, faultless dressing, 
but above all to his dark full beard. It gave him 
the appearance of a distinguished French diplo- 
mat, or a grand seigneur. His speech was delib- 
erate, slow, but he could be bitingly sarcastic, per- 
emptorily cruel. He was a great actor. I got 



Secrets of the French Foreign Office 99 

him to buy up some of Legrange^s overdue notes. 
I sent him to Legrange. I told him on no account 
to enter into bargaining, but to make a savage as- 
sault on him — a frontal attack. The same day I 
sent Celeste away from Paris. She went to Rome 
— I having found a spy's position for her with a 
foreign government, where, as I learned later, she 
did some excellent work. 

My man from. Brussels went with several bills 
to Legrange — demanded payment. Legrange 
asked for delay. '^Heinrich'' (princes, waiters 
and Secret Service men use only Christian names) 
brutally replied: 

^ ^ No delay whatever. On the other hand, I shall 
hand you these bills and give you a substantial sum 
if you will reply to some of my questions and do 
a few other little things for me.^* 

**What are theyT' he asked. Heinrich bluntly 
told him. First, what proposals did Edward VII 
make to Alfonso XIII at Carthagena in April of 
this year; second, what proposals to Italy's king 
in the same month at Gaeta; third, reports and 
plans of joint Anglo-French military and naval 
commissions. That was all! 

Legrange was indignant, excited, threatening. 
Heinrich remained calm. Legrange threatened 
Heinrich with instant arrest. 

Indeed, he reached for his telephone. Heinrich 
calmly stopped him. 



100 Revelations of an International Spy 

'*I advise you, before you ring up the police, to 
ring up your mistress. You may have a sur- 
prise. ' ' 

The calmness, the deliberation with which Hein- 
rich spoke made Legrange anxious. He looked 
bewildered at my agent. He feverishly rang up 
Celeste. No reply; he rang and rang. He then 
rang up the concierge. 

^ ^ Oh, yes ! Madame left this morning with her 
maid and all her trunks. She said she will be back 
in three weeks. '^ 

Legrange collapsed! He mumbled something 
hoarsely. Heinrich drove it home mercilessly. 

* ^ Now have me arrested. ' ' 

Legrange sat there, his head buried in his hands 
— a wreck, his heart torn with rage, disappoint- 
ment and betrayal. He begged to be left alone, 
but Heinrich pursued him remorselessly. 

*^No, you will give me the information desired 
or I will have you arrested for what you have al- 
ready disclosed to your mistress.'' 

As a matter of fact, Legrange did not disclose 
anything of importance to Celeste, but who re- 
members what one has said or done during a 
year! Besides, his state of mind was such that 
he really believed it himself. He saw himself the 
victim of a plot. He was frightened, excited, torn 
by anguish, shame, and distress; he was like a 
straw in the hands of Heinrich. 



Secrets of the French Foreign Office 101 

*^ Monsieur Legrange, I now leave you; unless 
the desired information is in my hands the day 
after to-morrow at this address in Brussels you 
will be denounced. Don't try to escape. I shall 
have you shadowed. If you try to leave France, 
my agents — who will follow you like a Nemesis — 
will have you arrested. Bon soir!'' 

I need not add that the desired information 
reached me in Brussels without delay. 



CHAPTER IV 

EDWARD VII 'S INTRIGUES FOR THE ISOLATION OF 
GERMANY 

AT the time of her brilliant victory over 
France in 1871, Germany had no navy 
worth mentioning, nor had she an inch of 
colonial possession anywhere in the world. The 
consciousness of her power, so vividly demon- 
strated in 1870-71, gave a great impetus to Ger- 
man industrial development — aided forcefully by 
the huge war indemnity exacted from France. In 
a few years ' time the world woke up to the fact of 
a new world-power — ^United Germany. As long 
as Bismarck guided Germany there did not exist a 
settled colonial policy, although in 1878 Germany 
acquired the Marshall Islands and in 1884 Lue- 
deritzbay, New Guinea, Togoland, and the Cam- 
eroons. Bismarck was averse to any colonial 
schemes. His aim was to encourage France in 
her colonial aspirations and to support her in 
them, hoping thereby to make France forget the 
loss of Alsace-Lorraine and thus pave the way for 
an understanding with her. 
In 1884 it was Germany and France cooperating 

102 



Edward VIFs Intrigues 103 

that prevented the ratification of a treaty which 
England concluded with Portugal and which 
would have made England supreme in the Congo 
Basin. In the same year Bismarck placed him- 
self in agreement with Baron de Gourcel, then 
French Ambassador in Berlin, on the question of 
opposing English policy in Africa. It was in 
agreement with Baron de Gourcel that Bismarck 
summoned the Congo Conference of 1884. In the 
next year (24th of December) Bismarck signed a 
delimitation treaty respecting French and Ger- 
man colonies in West Africa. 

Germany honestly and sincerely tried to make 
friends of the French Eepublic. It is very impor- 
tant to bear this in mind — for the right under- 
standing of later events of which I have first-hand 
information. In 1887 Bismarck could declare 
openly in the Eeichstag that *'the two govern- 
ments [France and Germany] had full confidence 
in the sincerity and loyalty of their mutual rela- 
tions.'^ Now we must allude to just another 
cardinal point of German policy. Kaiser Wilhelm 
II, as well as Bismarck, notwithstanding Ger- 
many's alliance with Austria (1879) which in 1882 
by the adhesion of Italy became the Triple Alli- 
ance, earnestly strove to preserve their friendly 
relations with Russia. On the 14th of September, 
1884, the emperors of Germany, Russia and Aus- 
tria met at Skiernewice (the Emperors' armies 



104 Revelations of an International Spy 

met here during the present war, but on a different 
mission) to proclaim the agreement reached six 
months previous between the three countries. 
This also is important to remember, i.e., coopera- 
tion between Kussia, Germany, and Austria. For 
when England, during and after the Boer War, 
found her ^^ splendid isolation^' a great peril to 
her, she deliberately embarked on a policy of sow- 
ing distrust and enmity between Germany and 
France on the one hand, in order to draw France 
into the orbit of her diplomacy and to create an- 
tagonism between Austria and Russia on the 
other, in order to break the traditional friendship 
between Russia and Germany and thus use Russia 
and France for her own selfish ends — the isolation 
and destruction of Germany. I shall, in later 
chapters, disclose many of the secret schemes and 
plots emanating from Downing Street for the ac- 
complishment of this diabolical scheme. Here I 
merely allude to it to point out the importance and 
full meaning of Germany's honest endeavors to- 
ward friendliness with all her neighbors. 

Many people trace Germany 's newer policy, her 
*^ warlike'' tendencies, her '^militarism," to the 
ascension of the present Emperor, William II. 
His whole history, life, and deeds belie all such 
groundless insinuations. In 1888, before the 
death of his grandfather, William I, the Kaiser 
said: **I am quite aware that among people in 



Edward VIFs Intrigues 105 

general and especially abroad, I am accused of 
frivolous desires of warlike fame. I indignantly 
spurn these unworthy imputations/' 

It is true that he did not agree with Bismarck's 
policy of *^ non-colonization/' but he continued 
Bismarck's policy of drawing nearer to France 
and keeping good friends with Russia — ^whilst at 
the same time putting forth every endeavor to 
remove causes of possible friction between his 
country and England. On the 14th of June, 1890, 
an Anglo-German treaty was signed, acknowledg- 
ing Great Britain's supremacy over the whole 
basin of the Nile (complement to Fashoda agree- 
ment with France). 

In 1891, on December 4th, the Kaiser in a public 
speech referred to France as ' ' the chivalrous 
enemy." It was France who did not respond to 
the many offers and attempts of friendship; she 
harbored thoughts of hatred and hopes of revenge. 
She went far out of her way to prepare for them. 
In spite of the political, religious, moral, social, 
and military gulf that separates the two countries, 
France and Russia entered into an alliance 
(known as the Dual Alliance) in 1895. Still the 
present Kaiser continued his advances toward 
France for her friendship. 

On the death of ex-President McMahon, on Oc- 
tober 18, 1893, the Kaiser instructed his Ambassa- 
dor in Paris, Count Miinster, to express his sym- 



106 Revelations of an International Spy 

pathies to the bereaved family. When President 
Carnot was assassinated at Lyons, the Kaiser was 
the first to express to his widow his sympathy, and 
referred to Carnot as ^Svorthy of his great name" 
and as having *^died on the field of honor.'* On 
this occasion and in spite of some resistance mani- 
fested by German opinion, he liberated two French 
naval officers who were imprisoned for espionage. 
Again, on December 2, 1895, in a speech he said 
of the French army, * * Brave soldiers, fighting with 
the courage of despair for their laurels, their past, 
their emperor. ' ' On the death of General Canro- 
bert in 1895, and on the death of Jules Simon in 
1896, he repeated his chivalrous conduct of years 
ago by publicly expressing his sympathy in gener- 
ous words. Indeed, I can state as a positive fact 
that in 1897 Germany made overtures to France 
for an all-round understanding. The reader will 
remember that, as related previously, Germany, 
France, and Eussia in 1895 undertook a joint ac- 
tion against Japan wresting Port Arthur from 
her. 

Even then, as we saw, Great Britain grew de- 
cidedly anxious. The three countries saw that 
Great Britain was their common and only enemy, 
blocking their legitimate expansion everywhere, 
opposing France in Africa and Siam in the Far 
East; Eussia in the Far East, Middle East (Per- 
sia, Afghanistan), and Germany in Asia Minor. 



Edward VlFs Intrigues 107 

Hence they combined against their common and 
only enemy. Great Britain, seeing this growing 
cordiality between Germany and France, on the 
one hand, and Germany, Austria, and Russia on 
the other, combined with the fact of the Dual Al- 
liance of 1895, engaged Japan (Treaty of 1902) 
to make war on Russia, humiliated France in Af- 
rica (Fashoda), and prepared a deep-laid plot for 
Franco-German distrust. Germany's overtures 
to France in 1897 were at first responded to. On 
the 23rd of July a Franco-German agreement was 
signed about Togoland. The same year Count 
Mouraview, Russia's Foreign Minister, visited 
Berlin and Paris, where proposals of Franco-Ger- 
man rapprochement were discussed. England 
grew very anxious. On the 13th of May, 1898, 
Mr. Chamberlain made his famous speech that 
** Great Britain was looking for friends.'' Mean- 
while, the Kaiser continued his advances to 
France for her friendship. In 1898, on the occa- 
sion of the loss of the French ship Bourgogne, he 
was among the first to express his sympathies to 
the French Government. 

In 1898, during the Fashoda crisis with Eng- 
land, although she knew that France was utterly 
unprepared, Germany did not take any advantage 
of this weakness of France. She preserved a very 
correct attitude. In 1899, the Kaiser again, on 
the death of President Faure, caused himself to be 



108 Revelations of an International Spy 

represented at the funeral by his ambassador, 
Prince Radzivill. On the 6th of July of the same 
year, being in Norwegian waters, he visited the 
French training ship Iphigenia and telegraphed 
to President Loubet to express his gratification 
both as a sailor and as a comrade * * at the amiable 
reception accorded" to him. In the same year 
Billow, the Chancellor, said in the Reichstag: 
*^With France we have always so far, easily and 
willingly, come to an arrangement in matters con- 
cerning colonial interest." In 1900 the Kaiser 
himself supervised the arrangements for the Ger- 
man section of the Paris Exhibition. In 1900 he 
invited the French general Bonnal to visit the Ger- 
man maneuvers as his personal guest and received 
and treated him with superlative attention. The 
same year — on March 15 — Biilow could declare 
that between France and Germany there was no 
longer any real conflict of interest whether in the 
Far East or in many other parts of the world. 

"Why should not Germany and France live as 
good neighbors and good friends ? Moreover, why 
should not all the nations of the Continent of Eu- 
rope — ^neighbors as they are — live together in 
peace and harmony? Such thoughts passed 
through the brains of statesmen, who held the des- 
tiny of Europe in their hands, just prior to the 
Boer War. Far be it from me to suggest that all 
causes for possible future friction were removed. 



Edward VIFs Intrigues 109 

But, nevertheless, it was discernible that a closer 
cooperation between them was contemplated. And 
this, for a specific reason. The time-honored 
policy of England has ever been to prevent such 
concord among the continental nations. I am not 
expressing an opinion ; I am stating a well-known 
fact. The statesmen of England considered — 
rightly or wrongly — that the British Empire could 
only be preserved by dominating Europe through 
dissensions and distrust among the continental 
Powers. As Chatham said long ago: **Our first 
duty is to see that France does not become a 
naval, commercial, and colonial Power.'' 

This was France in the time of the Earl of 
Chatham. This is Germany to-day. England has 
always attempted to prevent other nations devel- 
oping to the full their energies and abilities and 
making the most of their opportunities. It is 
England who prevented Russia from reaching a 
warm water port; England, who tried to prevent 
the formation of the United States of America, 
who destroyed American merchant shipping ; Eng- 
land, who — by the help of the Japanese — drove 
Russia from the Far East. England, who de- 
stroyed Spain's, Portugal's and the Netherlands' 
Colonies. It is now England, with the help of her 
erstwhile enemies and her present dupes, who 
wants to prevent Germany *' becoming a naval, 
commercial, and colonial Power." The moment 



110 Revelations of an International Spy 

England will give up the preposterous pretension 
of dominating the whole world, the peace of the 
world will have come appreciably nearer. 

Prior to and during the Boer War, the Euro- 
pean nations thought the opportunity came to de- 
throne England from her proud position of su- 
preme and domineering world power. In 1899 
Delcasse, French Foreign Minister, went to St. 
Petersburg, and Mouraview, Russian Minister, 
came to Paris. An anti-English coalition was 
broached. Germany, in previous years seeing the 
impossibility of cooperating with England on 
terms of equality, struck out for her own path. 
Was that wrong or warlike? 

She withdrew from the European concert in the 
Cretan Question (in 1898). In the same year she 
passed her first naval defense act, voting about 
ninety million dollars for ships and armaments. 
The same year (November) the Kaiser visited the 
Sultan in Constantinople and Palestine. Blocked 
everywhere by England in her justified endeavors 
for Colonial expansion — necessitated by her grow- 
ing population, industry, and commerce — she de- 
termined to utilize her resources and energy for 
the rejuvenation of the Turkish Empire — with its 
vast possibilities. In the next year she obtained 
from the Sultan in Turkey a concession — ^known as 
the Bagdad railway concession — for the extension 
of the Anatolian railway from Koniah in Asia 



Edward VIFs Intrigues 111 

Minor to Basra or the Bassorah on the Persian 
Gulf — through Bagdad. England declined to par- 
ticipate in this. In April of this same year Ger- 
many bought from Spain the Caroline and Mari- 
anne Islands for 25,000,000 pesetas. That no anti- 
English policy was behind all this, is proved by 
the fact that it was the Kaiser who prevented the 
anti-English coalition during the Boer War. 

And just at this time a very important thing 
took place — important for the subsequent history 
of the world. In January, 1901, King Edward 
VII ascended the throne of his ancestors. With 
him a new chapter in the history of the world set 
in. He was cosmopolitan, a great traveler, inti- 
mate in his contact with people in every station in 
life, and knew, above all, the world and human 
nature. He was not insular, did not entertain an 
insular view of things in general. He had imag- 
ination; he had a historic and geographic sense. 
He saw things as they were. And he saw, first of 
all, that the Boer War had shown that the founda- 
tions and whole structure of the British Empire 
had commenced to shake. He saw that, in the Far 
East and in the Middle East, Great Britain was 
being opposed by Russia, supported by France; 
he even saw that a cooperation between Russia, 
France, and Germany was a possibility. In Af- 
rica, he beheld the growing understanding, not to 
say cordiality, between Germany and France, 



112 Revelations of an International Spy 

whicli the Kaiser — as we have seen — ^very ear- 
nestly tried to extend to Europe. He knew of the 
cordiality existing between Berlin and St. Peters- 
burg. He knew of the Franco-Italian reconcilia- 
tion in the Mediterranean. It would be idle to 
ascribe to King Edward profound political knowl- 
edge, but he possessed exceptional diplomatic abil- 
ities. Neither he, nor Lord Esher, nor any of his 
trusted advisers, did plan a deliberate policy of 
any kind at this time. They felt that they would 
have to give to Britain's foreign policy a new di- 
rection, but none of them were guided by a clear 
comprehension of Britain's necessities or of the 
value of various combinations. 

Incidental circumstances gave this new schem- 
ing a decidedly anti-German coloring. First of 
all there was a long-standing antipathy — not to 
use a stronger word — ^between the Kaiser and Ed- 
ward, due in the first instance to the treatment of 
Empress Frederick (a favorite sister of Edward) 
by her son, the Kaiser. Another incidental factor 
of far-reaching importance was Edward's predi- 
lection for Paris, with all the gaiety he so thor- 
oughly enjoyed while Prince of Wales. 

There was a clique or coterie of people in Eng- 
land who cleverly played upon Edward's preju- 
dices, and by degrees succeeded in giving to Ed- 
ward's pro-French tendencies a growing anti-Ger- 
man point. In France they were not slow to seize 



Edward VIFs Intrigues 113 

upon this opportunity. Delcasse, even after the 
Fashoda incident, declared to an intimate friend 
of his that he would not quit office before he had 
arrived at an understanding with England. Not- 
withstanding all the repeated and absolutely sin- 
cere overtures of Germany, France never gave up 
the idea of a war of * ' revenge ' ' against Germany. 
She was ready to sacrifice much, but not to forget 
Alsace-Lorraine, called the ^4ost provinces'' — 
but which in reality Louis XIV stole from Ger- 
many. English manufacturers, shippers, ship- 
builders, viewed with growing alarm and concern 
Germany's wonderful developments in all phases, 
fields, and spheres. Being unable by sheer lack 
of ability to emulate Germany, John Bull devised 
another scheme — to destroy Germany. 

Great Britain was not secure in the Far East 
and in central Asia against Eussian expansion. 
She encountered France in north and central Af- 
rica. She feared Eussian influence in the Balkans, 
but she feared German native ability, thrift, and 
efficiency above all. She was ready to pay any 
price, to give up centuries-old, political traditions, 
aye, corner-stones of her political fabric ; she was 
willing to hand over Morocco to France, a contin- 
gency she consistently opposed all the time; she 
was willing to withdraw her navy from the Far 
East, handing it over to her ally Japan ; she was 
willing absolutely to reverse her time-honored 



114 Revelations of an International Spy 

policy in central Asia, handing over Persia to Eus- 
sia (which she did) ; she was willing to reestab- 
lish her greatest and most dreaded political rival 
— Eussia — after the latter 's defeat in Manchuria 
by Japan; she was willing to reestablish Eussian 
domination in the Balkans, at the risk even of hav- 
ing to give np Constantinople to the Eussians ; she 
was willing to do all this and much more — but she 
was not willing to emulate Germany and try to 
beat her at her own game : science, efficiency, thrift, 
good government. She was willing to make her 
erstwhile enemies (Eussia and France) her friends 
and fellow-conspirators, but she was not willing 
to make a friend of Germany — ^who has never been 
her enemy. How this was plotted and carried out 
I will now describe. 

The year of 1906 was ushered in by events of far- 
reaching importance in many parts of the world, 
which to the uninitiated seem to be unconnected 
with one another but in reality they have a very 
close bearing to one another. On the 10th of 
January, Sir Charles Hardinge, British Ambas- 
sador to St. Petersburg, presented his letters of 
recall to the Tzar, from whom he received a 
golden snuff-box, having been appointed Perma- 
nent Under-Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs. 
On the 15th of January, the conference to settle 
the Morocco questions opened at Algeciras. On 
the 19th of January the French Ambassador left 



Edward VII's Intrigues 115 

London on a visit to Paris ; the German Ambas- 
sador in London paid a visit to King Edward 
VII at Windsor Castle (third week in January). 
Belgium mobilized secretly in January; Austria 
declared a tariff war against Servia on account of 
a customs union entered into between Servia and 
Bulgaria the year previous. In February, Bul- 
garia addressed a note to Turkey relative to crimes 
committed by Albanian and Greek Bands on Bul- 
garians in Macedonia; also the Antwerp Forti- 
fication Bill passed by Belgian Parliament. In 
March, Kussia passed a new military law; King 
Edward visited Paris {incognito) ; Anglo-Turk- 
ish conflict over Egyptian boundary question ; ris- 
ing in Yemen; Rumanian secret consignment of 
rifles captured in Kolozsvar, Hungary. In April, 
M. Isvolsky was appointed Foreign Minister of 
Russia. In May, he visited Paris. 

My report on the situation in France to **D*' 
could not be finished until I had obtained the se- 
crets of M. Legrange through Celeste. I therefore 
took the train for Brussels. At the chancellery of 
the British Legation in Brussels I found Mr. Percy 
Wyndham, who consented to join me at a dinner, 
which, as usual, took place at the Hotel de la Poste. 
Of course, I played off some of the intelligence 
I had obtained in Paris. I told him that I had 
heard in Paris that, at the conference at Windsor 



116 Revelations of an International Spy 

Castle war with Germany was discussed, but it 
was decided to postpone it for several reasons. 
Of these reasons I heard whispers, but I was never 
satisfied with mere whispers. I had hoped Mr. 
Wyndham might know something more. As a 
matter of fact, the British Legation knew only that 
there was a danger of war, that Belgium secretly 
mobilized in January, and that England was ready 
with her navy and expeditionary force, but they did 
not know the gist of the conversation at Windsor 
Castle in the last week of January. 

* * Well, Wyndham, I hear nice things in Paris — 
the negotiations with Kussia are going well. His 
Majesty sent Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace to 
St. Petersburg, after a visit to Algeciras. I very 
much fear we are approaching a European war. 
To me it is unthinkable that Great Britain should 
enter into a treaty with Eussia. It is a crime 
against humanity." 

*^It is something new to me to see you in the 
role of a moralist, Lincoln. You must look facts 
in the face. We have come to the conclusion that, 
in view of certain developments in many parts of 
the world, we cannot possibly remain in isolation. 
Eussia was undermining our influence in the Far 
East and although that was checked by the Anglo- 
Japanese treaty of 1902 and particularly by the 
Japanese victory in Manchuria, we could not feel 



Edward VIFs Intrigues 117 

comfortable about Asia. Japan, our ally, cannot 
be trusted, and the Japanese alliance might prove 
even more dangerous to British interests in the 
Far East than Eussian expansion. Being driven 
from the East, Eussia will surely again turn her 
attention to the Middle East and European Tur- 
key.'' 

^^This will raise some of the most vital problems 
of English policy." 

**You know," he continued, ^*of our perennial 
difficulties in the Persian Gulf and in Persia. Eus- 
sia has approached already too near to the fron- 
tier of our Indian Empire. The only buffer States 
separating her from India are Afghanistan and 
Persia. I do not think we need trouble ourselves 
about Afghanistan. For although the present 
Ameer is not so friendly to us as his father was, 
he would certainly resist with all his power any 
encroachment of Eussia upon her borders. But 
with Persia it is different. ' ' 

He then went on to dwell on recent Anglo-Eus- 
sian rivalry in Persia. How Eussia in 1900 lent 
22,500,000 roubles to Persia, out of which sum Per- 
sia had to pay off her English debt of £500,000 so 
that Eussia remained her only creditor. How 
Eussia took possession through her Belgian hire- 
lings of all the Persian custom houses and ports 
except Fars and ports on the Persian Gulf. De- 



118 Revelations of an International Spy 

fault in payment gives right of control of customs 
houses to Eussia. 

* ^ The building by Eussia of a military road from 
Tabriz to Teheran cannot but cause us anxiety/' 
continued Mr. Wyndham. *^The Eussian-Persian 
Commercial Treaty signed in 1902 nearly ruined 
^/ ouif Indian tea trade to Persia and caused a rapid 
extension of Eussian influence in Persia. 

^ * Indeed, Eussia is not trying to conceal her de- 
signs upon Persia. With great difficulty we in- 
duced the Shah of Persia to come to London, 
which, as you know, he did in August of 1902, vis- 
iting King Edward. On his way back he visited 
Paris, which he left on September 17th for War- 
saw. Three days later the Novoye-Vremya of St. 
Petersburg published the following lines: ^One 
of the roads by which it is possible to reach the 
open ocean, lies through Persia.' Our ambassa- 
dor in St. Petersburg reported to Downing Street 
that this was inserted at the direct command of the 
Eussian Government. In other words, it was a 
threat leveled at us. This was followed by Eus- 
sia opening a steamship service from Odessa to 
the Persian Gulf, although there was no trade ex- 
isting whatever. Indeed, we know that the Eus- 
sian Government secretly subsidized the steamer 
Kornniloff with £5,000 per round voyage. In 
1903, Eussia built a military road from Tabriz to 
Kazvin. All these open encroachments on Persia, 



Edward VH's Intrigues 119 

coupled with Eussia's secret intrigues in Teheran, 
compelled Lord Lansdowne to declare in the House 
of Lords, * Great Britain will resist by all means 
in its power the attempt of any other nation to 
establish itself in force on the shores of the 
Gulf.' 

*^To emphasize Lord Lansdowne 's speech in 
London, Lord Curzon, our Viceroy in India, left 
Karachi (India) for the Gulf, accompanied by 
four cruisers. This was a demonstration against 
Eussia. However, these perennial bickerings 
could not go on in the Middle East without a clash 
of arms sooner or later. Now an armed conflict 
between us and Eussia would sound the death knell 
of the Entente Cordiale — ^which is the corner-stone 
of our foreign policy.'' 

**I know," I replied, ^^and it is for this reason 
that I maintain that the Entente Cordiale will, nay, 
must, ultimately lead you into a war with Ger- 
many. It will compel you to extend it to Eussia, 
which will then have a decidedly anti-German 
point, and that will be disastrous. Why not 
rather make up your differences with Germany! 
It would not entail such enormous political sacri- 
fices as the Anglo-Eussian agreement, should the 
present negotiations lead to that result." 

^*We distrust Germany — that explains all," was 
his cryptic reply. 

^^Eather say you fear Germany and are jealous 



120 Revelations of an International Spy 

of her, and I agree with you,'' I retorted. *^But 
tell me a single reason why you should not 
rather compose your differences with Germany? 
An Anglo-German treaty, removing all causes of 
friction between the two countries and paying due 
regard to Germany's justifiable colonial ambitions, 
would make you secure in Asia, in the Middle 
East — everywhere. Besides it would be the only 
true safeguard of the peace of the world. Mind 
you, I am using this word in its true application, 
and not in the rhetorical sense of diplomatic 
after-dinner speeches. ' ' 

**As a matter of debate your argument is unan- 
swerable. I admit that much. But this is not a 
question of argument — it is a question of self- 
interest, national interest, pure and simple. You 
must not forget Fashoda. If after the Fashoda 
incident, and after all the French bitterness dur- 
ing the Boer War, we would have entered into a 
general treaty with Germany, eine Verbruderungs 
Treaty — France and Kussia would have inter- 
preted it as directed against them. Now I want 
you to follow my reasoning in regard to the de- 
ciding factors in Downing Street. During and 
after Fashoda, the Kaiser was bidding high for 
French friendship. We cannot, of course, con- 
sider for a moment to stand by and watch the for- 
mation of a coalition or entente of Russia, Ger- 
many, Austria-Hungary, and France in which Italy 



Edward VH's Intrigues 121 

must be included. There are two possibilities and 
two only : either we join this entente of European 
Powers or we prevent its consummation. The 
first is out of the question. To join such an en- 
tente would be to join an association of thief s in 
order to he rohhed; or rather, to surrender our 
leading position, if you prefer this'* (he corrected 
himself when I laughed at his former expression) . 
** Therefore we had to make such a combination 
impossible. Howf To side with Germany! 
That was very carefully considered, but rejected 
for the following reasons: to join with Germany 
would not only have sharpened the antagonism 
and rivalry between ourselves and Eussia and 
France, but would certainly have resulted in a war. 
Now such a war could only have had one ending — 
the victory of the Anglo-German, Austro-Hun- 
garian coalition. That means just this, which you 
don't seem to understand, mon cher — the strength- 
ening of Germany, the raising of Germany to a 
real world-power position, at our cost — Vous voyez 
voild," 

**And will not your present policy lead you into 
war — the results of which might, nay, will, be more 
disastrous? Besides, why not enter a general 
European combination? Why not? Do you 
think, furthermore, that Russia will play your 
game?'' 

**I know it is schlecJit mit Russland Kirschen 



122 Revelations of an International Spy 

zu fressen'^ (Mr. Wyndham was wont to quote 
French and German aside as he went along), **but 
it will be easy to make Russia play our game. 
There is Persia, Constantinople, the hegemony of 
the Balkans, prizes much coveted by Russia and 
only through us can they get them. ' ' 

* * And when she gets them she will swallow you, ' ' 
I retorted. 

^ * There will be Germany to help us. Germany 
beaten and humiliated will be willing and glad to 
accept our alliance — but she will have to take a 
secondary position. You see our whole policy in 
a nutshell. If an Anglo-German combination 
wins the next war, Germany will subjugate us, 
with or without the help of Russia. If an Anglo- 
Franco-Russian combination wins, we shall retain 
our leading position — France being a decaying 
country and Russia being unwieldy. Should she, 
however, become dangerous, we shall call Ger- 
many in. ' ' 

**But suppose — that an Anglo-Franco-Russian 
combination would be defeated — what thenT' 

**That is unthinkable. We shall have other 
helpers besides. Our scheme is very comprehen- 
sive. ' ' 

Not only Mr. Wyndham spoke thus. All the 
British diplomats I discussed this question with 
gave expression to the very same views. It was 
in vain to argue with any of them ; in vain to point 



Edward VIFs Intrigues 123 

to Germany ^s record since 1871, notwithstanding 
the many opportunities to ''conquer/' if conquest 
had been her aim, so notable during the Eusso- 
Japanese War. It was useless to appeal to facts. 
As Sir Arthur Hardinge remarked once during a 
luncheon he gave in honor of Mr. Kowntree and 
myself at the Legation in Brussels: "We diplo- 
mats are like lawyers; we have to plead for, and 
uphold, a cause which we know to be wrong.'' 

True to my customary methods of work, I did 
not pursue my conversation further, although I 
was curious to know the exact details of "the com- 
prehensible scheme" Mr. Wyndham referred to. 
I could, however, guess its outline. 

I was just making plans to investigate this aspect 
thoroughly, when Mr. Eowntree decided to send 
me to Switzerland to start there also an investiga- 
tion. This was wholly unwelcome to me, as it was 
arranged between "D" and myself that I should 
go to Copenhagen. I could not persuade Mr. 
Eo"wntree to desist, or at any rate postpone the 
Swiss investigation. So I had to go. I went to 
Switzerland and from there continued to mail and 
wire my arguments for the stopping of the Swiss 
investigation. All in vain. At last after a few 
days of fruitless weiring, I got a telegram from Mr. 
Eowntree, telling me to meet him at Bale. Copen- 
hagen now looked far away. Mr. Eowntree ar- 
rived in Bale and within a few hours of his arrival 



124 Revelations of an International Spy 

he was convinced that an investigation in Switzer- 
land for his book was an impossibility. The very- 
same day I returned to London, while Mr. Eown- 
tree, accompanied by Mrs. Eowntree, decided to 
spend a holiday in Switzerland. 

The reader will be rather surprised to hear that 
I returned to London. Did not I desire to go to 
Copenhagen? Oh, yes; it was precisely for this 
reason that I went to London. I convinced Mr. 
Eowntree that we should not investigate Switzer- 
land. By the way, what seemed too difficult be- 
fore was very easily accomplished. I secured the 
assistance of a very high official of the Canton of 
Bale, and of the Canton of Berne to support my 
view, and Mr. Eowntree could not but yield before 
these weighty and unanimous experts. It was 
necessary now to convince Mr. Eowntree that we 
should start an investigation in Denmark. But 
in order to be successful, I had to have letters 
of introduction from Sir Edward Grey to the Brit- 
ish Minister in Copenhagen, who would, as in 
Brussels and Paris, introduce me to ministers and 
high permanent officials in Copenhagen. 

So I went to London, got my letters from the 
Foreign Office, and was off to Copenhagen. As I 
anticipated. Sir Edward Grey's letters had the 
desired results. To lend an air of reality to my 
supposed investigations, I requested the usual let- 
ters of introduction. As a matter of solid fact. 




A ^4 



„ </^ 









'ujia^t^-/ 






/-/'>X'/'''V/, 






-7 /W//-f6t) 



^^^ 




:.,J 



Mr. Lincoln's Credentials to the Danish Ministers and Permanent 

Officials. 



Edward VH's Intrigues 125 

I did not investigate anything except international, 
political, and diplomatic intrigues. Will Mr. 
Rowntree contradict me? Did I investigate any- 
thing in Denmark? I was there five weeks, re- 
turned, and advised Mr. Rowntree to drop Den- 
mark too, and let me concentrate for the time being 
upon France and Belgium. Does Mr. Rowntree 
remember this! Can he say what I did in Copen- 
hagen for him? No, he cannot. I was there for 
important things. Now it was very important for 
me to visit, just at this time, Copenhagen. 

Both the dynasties of Russia and Great Britain 
being closely related to the Danish Court, it was 
felt by both countries that Copenhagen might be a 
good ** clearing house '^ — which indeed it was. 
The old King Christian IX actively supported the 
efforts for an understanding for the following 
reasons: His daughters, the Dowager Empress 
of Russia and the Queen of England, influenced 
him in that direction — both having been anti-Ger- 
man. Both were, indeed, willing tools in the 
hands of the anti-German conspirators. It is not 
so generally known as it ought to be that it was 
mainly Queen Alexandra and her sister who pre- 
vented an Anglo-Russian war over the Dogger 
Bank incident. 

Furthermore, King Christian hoped that an 
Anglo-Russian-French combination might provide 
him with an opportunity for revenge for 1866. 



126 Revelations of an International Spy 

Not that he ever hoped or desired to attack Ger- 
many, but during those months of secret negotia- 
tions he was indeed promised, definitely promised, 
that for facilitating the landing of an Anglo- 
French force in North Schleswig-Holstein he would 
be given Schleswig-Holstein, including Altona and 
the Kiel Canal. For it should be remembered the 
discussion of an Anglo-Eussian-French Entente 
did not by any means move within academic limits, 
nor was it prompted by tender considerations for 
**the peace of Europe/' 

In Copenhagen, I had a most remarkable experi- 
ence — remarkable even for a diplomatic spy. I 
was staying at the Grand Hotel National. There 
was a round, big-faced, clean-shaven, spectacled 
gentleman much in evidence there, who smoked a 
brand of cigars, the bands of which bore his own 
smiling face. This gentleman took an unusual 
interest in me — a flattering unction which aroused 
my suspicion and watchfulness. His portrait 
brand of cigars I found remarkably good, after 
one of his excellent dinners. 

His attentions went on for two or three days, 
and I was curious to know what was to follow. 
One evening, again dining together, we were talk- 
ing about Rhine wines — a subject of which he knew 
a good deal — when he ostentatiously pulled out a 
magnificent watch from his watch pocket and 
looked at its dial. To my astonishment I saw a 



Edward VH's Intrigues 127 

double eagle in diamonds and other precious 
stones. Whether it was the Eussian or Austrian 
double eagle, I could not tell. He put it away 
again. He went on talking on Ehine wines, when, 
to my greater astonishment, after ten or fifteen 
minutes, he pulled out another magnificent watch 
from his other vest pocket with the same eagle 
in diamonds. I could not repress my curi- 
osity. 

**Do you carry two watches on you?" I asked. 

''I do, because these two watches are a very 
treasured possession to me." He pulled them 
both out, unchained them, and put them into my 
hands. 

**This one is a gift from Tzar Nicholas, the 
other from Empress Marie, his mother," he said. 

I took a good look at them. Both had the Eus- 
sian eagle set in diamonds, and other precious 
stones, whilst the other side contained the mono- 
grams of the Tzar and the Dowager Empress re- 
spectively. Inside I saw engraved a date. It was 
clear to me, my host was a Eussian something. 
But beyond saying *^how interesting, they are 
beautiful," I closed up like an oyster. 

*'I thought you would like to see them," was his 
sententious reply. 

*' Certainly I am interested," I urged. **Are 
they presents from the high personages personally 
whose monograms they bear?" 



128 Revelations of an International Spy 

**That is a question to which I will only reply 
providing you answer one of my questions," he 
said. 

^*That depends upon the question,*' I countered. 

**Well, Monsieur Lincoln, I am curious to know 
why there are so often messengers from two or 
three ministries coming to you with messages? 
Why do you drive so often to the Ministry of For- 
eign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior and the 
British Legation r* 

* * Oh, ho, I comprehend, ' ' I replied with great hi- 
larity. **You have followed me or had me fol- 
lowed. Why, it is very simple. I am here to 
make an investigation for an English philanthro- 
pist, covering Danish agriculture and kindred sub- 
jects, *' wherewith I produced my credentials. 

**Yes, yes, that is a very clever blind. Very 
clever, indeed. But you should then see people 
who are engaged in agriculture and not statesmen 
and diplomats. You see. Monsieur Lincoln, your 
blind does not deceive me. It only makes me more 
curious. Of course, I have no right to ask you or 
to know what you are doing here. But you asked 
me a question relating to my two watches. Now, 
sir, I propose a bargain ; to wit, I will tell you my 
story if you will tell me yours. Agreed!'' 

This was indeed a prosperous situation. I was 
not so keen for his story, which might be sheer in- 
vention, but I was immediately on the alert to 



Edward VIFs Intrigues 129 

locate his precise personality and its official impli- 
cations. I jocularly agreed to his terms. 

It developed that he was the chief secret service 
man in Denmark of the Eussian Secret Police. It 
was his special duty to watch and hunt down Nihil- 
ists. Whenever the Tzar or the Dowager Em- 
press of Russia sojourned in Copenhagen — which 
during the lifetime of King Christian IX was very 
frequently, he was attached to their person and 
was around them day and night. He told me some 
interesting and hair-curling Nihilist hunts. But 
what interested me infinitely more was the fact 
that he was in personal attendance upon the Tzar 
and his mother whenever they were in Copen- 
hagen. 

Indeed, when Queen Alexandra and her sister, 
the Dowager Empress of Russia, spent their few 
weeks together every autumn in Copenhagen, he 
was always with them and overheard many a con- 
versation. It was this year — 1906 — that Queen 
Alexandra of England and her sister were to 
spend their common holidays for the first time 
in their beautiful seashore villa, *^Hvidore,'' they 
had recently bought not far from Copenhagen — 
on the Strandvej. A tunnel was just being cut 
under the road so that the royal ladies might walk 
down to their shore garden without the necessity 
of crossing the public highway (the ^^Hvidore'* 
stands on an elevated garden across the road). 



130 Revelations of an International Spy 
Indeed, I had the privilege — through Mr. M- 



the man with the two watches, a privilege I greatly 
enjoyed — of going through the villa. 

What a chance by coincidence ! Here was a man 
who was in personal attendance upon the Tzar and 
his mother, who overheard many remarks and con- 
versations. Was he not a trusted, a most trusted, 
agent, and did he not know all the wire-pullers in 
Copenhagen 1 The very man I wanted ! He could 
tell me all. I desired to know more. During the 
few days of our acquaintanceship I had several 
reasons to learn that he was a great friend of 
England and France. Consequently I saw my 
chance. I told him I was an English secret serv- 
ice man in the diplomatic branch ; showed him my 
credentials from Brussels and Paris, a private 
letter I received from Sir George Bonham, British 
Minister at Berne, and many other English diplo- 
matic papers. He calmly remarked, ^*I thought 
so." He immediately volunteered to help me in 
my mission. ^^I will be glad and proud to help 
Great Britain," he said. 

This conversation was the beginning of a very 
close acquaintanceship, ripening into friendship. 
We dined every evening I was free ; he drove me 
in his superb carriage any time I wanted, along the 
Strandvej to the Hermitage. He drove me to the 
races, where he lost and I won. He had a villa 
not far from **Hvidore," but on the shore. 



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Edward VIFs Intrigues 131 

There we used to spend some lovely evenings, such 
as one only finds under the northern skies — ^never 
getting dark during the summer months. When- 
ever we decided on an afternoon to spend the even- 
ing out there, he sent out an abundant supply 
of Eudesheimer or lohannisberger Auslese — he 
had the best Ehine and Moselle wines in Copen- 
hagen — with plenty of ice, so that by the time we 
arrived they were deliciously cold — having just 
the bouquet that an epicure desires. 

We then drove out into the Strandvej, the most 
beautiful drive in Europe — on your right, driving 
north of Copenhagen, the Hermitage with summer 
villas charmingly situated in dainty gardens; on 
your left, the Sund, the silvery streak that sep- 
arates Denmark from Sweden ; silvery, not in lan- 
guage of romance or fiction, but in reality. There 
it lay, smooth, wide and large ; silent save for the 
gentle and sweet hushaby rhythms of its shore- 
ward motions, sh — sh — . And we sat in the gar- 
den of his villa; at our feet the sea; across, the 
shipping lights of Swedish coast. We were alone. 
Nothing disturbed our silence, our thoughts, our 
conversation, save the merry laughter of a cycling 
party cheerfully ringing out into the stillness of 
night or the rhythmic sound of the hoofs of a 
passing horse. 

It was here that we had our secret meeting with 
one of the adjutants of King Frederick VIII, Count 



132 Revelations of an International Spy 

K . I vividly remember Count K , tall, 

slim, of military bearing, which was accentuated 
by his exceptionally high and stiff collar (he came 
in civil dress) . He was always faultlessly dressed, 
according to the latest London fashion, even to the 
single eyeglass. He looked as if he had just been 
turned out of some high-class Bond Street estab- 
lishment. He was a pompous man with a tremen- 
dous self-esteem. He used to talk to us on inter- 
national matters like a schoolmaster to his boys, 
much to our amusement and profit. The great ad- 
vantage in Secret Service, of dealing with a vain- 
glorious man, is obvious. He is fair game for the 
practised interrogator when he is full of himself, 
his favorite topic. 

From the Count I learned many things. The 
negotiations proceeding between England and 
Eussia were proceeding slowly for three reasons : 
The first was Persia, the second reason was the 
antagonistic viewpoints, the third was the Dar- 
danelles. Eussia was quite willing to enter into a 
general treaty with England, but wanted to give it 
a more definite character than Grey could do on ac- 
count of the House of Commons and the Cabinet. 
Grey's standpoint was that pubhc opinion in Eng- 
land would not at that time support or even per- 
mit more than a treaty removing differences and 
**Eeibungsflache.'' But he let it be understood 
in St. Petersburg that this treaty might and should 



Edward VITs Intrigues 133 

become the basis of a wide arrangement. Eussia, 
just worsted by Japan, wanted Persia as her 
sphere of influence, and an alliance, or at any rate, 
a military convention. She also wanted free hand 
on the Balkans or a promise of Constantinople. 

Grey's reply was as follows : He could not pos- 
sibly plead in the House of Commons for a treaty 
handing over Persia to Eussia ; indeed, he antici- 
pated difficulties in any case. He then suggested 
a division of Persia into three spheres, Eussian, 
neutral, and British; it being clearly understood 
that Eussia was to have a free hand for pacific 
penetration in her sphere. As far as the Balkans 
were concerned, it should not be included in the 
treaty at all, as that would rouse Germany, Aus- 
tria-Hungary, and Turkey. It might, indeed, 
prompt these Powers to wage a war for the pro- 
tection of their interests, and, as yet, they 
(France, Eussia, and England) were not ready. 
It might furthermore arouse the suspicion of Eou- 
mania — then a distrusting neighbor of Eussia — 
and the other Balkan States. Again, the deflec- 
tion of Italy from the Triple Alliance not yet 
being complete, owing to divergence of opinion 
between France and Italy on Mediterranean ques- 
tions, this question should be held over, it being 
understood that Great Britain would support the 
Eussian hegemony in the Balkans. But Eussia 
should try to get closer to Italy, which she did. 



134j Revelations of an International Spy 

Do you remember the Tzar's visit to the King of 
Italy? ^ 

Constantinople was also to be left out for the 
same reasons. Eussia, humbled and beaten by 
Japan, accepted these promises. It was on this 
basis that the negotiations went on. It is there- 
fore evident that Grey deceived the House of Com- 
mons and the people of Great Britain. The treaty 
negotiated with Eussia was meant by him to serve 
as a blind — behind it lay his further warlike prepa- 
rations to settle accounts with Germany, Eussia 
to be thrust into the Balkans, no mention of mil- 
itary matters to be made in the treaty, but rele- 
gated to the secret military missions — this is how 
Grey circumvented the opposition, the distrust of 
parliament. 

lyThere was a strong anti-English party in St. 
Petersburg, working against the consummation of 
this anti-German policy. They were not unwilling 
to enter into a treaty with England to remove 
rivalry and friction, but they were not willing to 
pull the chestnuts out of the fire for England. 
One of their papers, the Nasha Zhizn, thus spoke 
on the 4th of July, 1906: *^The Eussian people 
would welcome a peaceful alliance with Great 
Britain. She sees, however, in the attitude of the 
British towards Eussia only a desire to isolate 

1 This is by no means a summary of what Grey said 
in my oicn words but is a resume of ichat Grey actually said 
and ivrote to several British Amhassado7's in his despatches. 



Edward VITs Intrigues 135 

Germany/' This was the comprehensive scheme 
confirmed by Mr. Wyndham to enlist Italy and the 
Balkans. 

It can be truthfully said that Grey is respon- 
sible for converting the German-Russian friend- 
ship of centuries standing into an acute rivalry 
and antagonism. He brought Russia from the 
Far East, he pushed Russia into the Balkans, his 
policy unleashed the mad dogs of Panslavism. 
Just a word to my readers. I have made just 
now, and in prior chapters, sensational statements 
of exceptional gravity, claiming for them abso- 
lute authenticity. I have made a challenge and 
a proposal in my Preface. Meanwhile, I ask them 
to suspend their judgment, if they are unable or 
unwilling to believe that Grey and Edward VII 
could have been guilty of such enormities. 

I spent five weeks in Copenhagen, during which 
I came frequently in touch with another odd chap, 
whom I shall call Rosenkranz. Herr Rosenkranz 
was a German, traveling ostensibly for a German 
'^Baedeker*' publishing house. In reality, forts, 
fortifications, guns, and other kindred subjects had 
a remarkable fascination for him, not to forget the 
exceedingly pretty girls of Copenhagen. We be- 
came quite friendly. Indeed, when after my suc- 
cessful sojourn in Copenhagen I took the night 
express to Hamburg I was seen oif at the station 
by my two friends, Monsieur M and Herr 



136 Revelations of an International Spy 

Eosenkranz. Do they remember itf Monsieur 

M absolutely insisted on my taking a box of 

his cigars with me and altogether it was a hearty 
send-off. I retired to my sleeping compartment 
well pleased with myself. Next morning I was 
in Hamburg, where I met *'D." After spending 
two days in Hamburg, I returned to London. 
Three weeks afterwards I found myself in the 
superb apartments of Herr Eosenkranz in Berlin, 
facing the Thiergarten. 

My meeting with * * D ' ' in Hamburg came about 
this way. He wrote me a letter, telling me he was 
going to Nauheim, and if I could tell him when I 
might finish in Copenhagen, he would arrange his 
trip accordingly and we could meet somewhere in 
Germany. I suggested Hamburg, for I was anx- 
ious to get back to Brussels as soon as possible — 
Mr. Eowntree having grown rather impatient 
about my inactivity in Copenhagen. Now Ham- 
burg is on the direct route to Copenhagen and 
Brussels. I got to Hamburg on the morrow after 
I left Copenhagen and called upon *^D,'* who was 
staying in the Hotel Viel-Jahreszeiten. 

*^D,'' a true patriot of Britain, a man of lofty 
ideals and of deep convictions, was visibly pained 
at my disclosure of the activities of his king and 
Sir Edward Grey. For him the peace, progress, 
and happiness of the world was conditional upon 
an entente between England and Germany and 



Edward VITs Intrigues 137 

France, to whicli in time he hoped the United 
States of America would belong as a ** sleeping 
partner/' or, as he remarked to me, an ** approv- 
ing and benevolent bystander.'' 

** Lincoln," he said, with a grave countenance, 
*^your intelligence is ominous, portending a catas- 
trophe for the world. ' ' It should be borne in mind 
that the public, that Europe as a whole, knew noth- 
ing of these feelers and negotiations. Indeed, if 
published, it would have met in Great Britain with 
unqualified disapproval, yea, condemnation, whilst 
the whole world would have looked upon it as a 
grotesque piece of hallucination of disordered 
brains. **D" expressed deep obligation for my 
successful report and made significant use of it. 

Sir Edward Grey will now know what those ar- 
ticles in certain organs of the British press meant 
and whence they came. 

**What a hollow phrase democratic government, 
parliamentary government, is!" said he, *^when a 
single minister has the power and opportunity of 
thus deceiving his country and committing it to a 
policy of which it knows nothing but which it 
sincerely detests. Before leaving London, I spoke 

to A , B , and C , and they certainly 

knew nothing of any such details of the Anglo- 
Russian negotiations." 

I subsequently learned from him that these three 
cabinet ministers, when they had reviewed *^D's" 



138 Revelations of an International Spy 

version of my report, not knowing of course 
whence it came, pronounced it unbelievable. 
They made personal inquiries of Grey and official 
inquiries in the Cabinet meetings. Does Sir Ed- 
ward Grey remember it? My information, how- 
ever, was brushed aside by Grey with a bland smile 
and with lame excuses. After our conversation, 
**D'' and I took a ferry boat on the Alster, and 
going to the Uhlenhorster Fahrhaus, we had our 
lunch. He left for Nauheim in the afternoon, 
whilst I left for Brussels in the evening. In Brus- 
sels I found most of the diplomats away upon 
their annual holiday, so I left for England and 
York, Mr. Eowntree's home. In October I was 
back in Brussels after a brief visit in Germany, 
putting the finishing touches on my report which 
covered these important questions: 

1. Had England or France entered into an alli- 
ance and what was its scope 1 

2. The purport of the conversations in Windsor 
Castle in the last week of January between Ed- 
ward VII, Sir Francis Bertie, Sir Charles Har- 
dinge, and Monsieur Paul Cambon, the French 
Ambassador? 

3. What was going on between England and 
Eussia? 

4. What was the meaning of the Congo Agita- 
tion? 



Edward VIFs Intrigues 139 

5. What was discussed and decided in Paris in 
March during King Edward ^s incognito visit? 

Before giving the replies to these questions, I 
should like to make two observations. I have 
previously mentioned the sources of my informa- 
tion — giving even names wherever possible. Be- 
sides, I am reproducing photographically letters 
which at any rate show that I have been in per- 
sonal touch with the prime movers in the inter- 
national game of intrigue and counter-intrigue. I 
must be excused from not mentioning names of 
those high permanent officials in Copenhagen, 
Brussels and Paris, who were the real sources of 
my information. It is, of course, quite obvious 
that to do this would result in the direst conse- 
quences for those concerned. 

My other observation is this. The reader, being 
told that I had to find out what was discussed 
behind closed doors in "Windsor Castle, might 
think that I am wandering into the realms of fic- 
tion. As a matter of fact the diplomatic spy has 
nothing more important to find out than these 
conversations. As I have already shown, and will 
prove it still further, policies are plotted and car- 
ried out and the wires are continually being pulled 
by a small coterie of people. Hence, to unearth 
the hidden moves of secret diplomacy one has to 
get the knowledge of what is discussed behind 



140 Revelations of an International Spy 

closed doors. How then does a diplomatic spy get 
the gist of these secret pourparlers 1 

First of all, I had to be continually on the look- 
out for information that would indicate the meet- 
ing of any secret conclaves. Sometimes a hint 
like this in the newspapers put me on their track ; 
**His Excellency, Sir Francis Bertie, British Am- 
bassador to the French Eepublic, arrived in Lon- 
don last night,'' or something similar often gave 
me the premonitory symptom. Again when King 
Edward VII arrives in Paris ; or the Kaiser meets 
the Tzar, the diplomatic spies of all governments 
are immediately mobilized. For, by hook or by 
crook, they must all know the portent of these 
meetings. The meeting between Edward VII and 
the Tzar Nicholas at Eeval in 1908, their schemes 
affecting the Balkans, particularly Macedonia, had 
more to do with the immediate outbreak of the 
Young Turk Eevolution than even Abdul Hamid's 
intended disciplinary punishment of Enver Bey. 

However, these all belong in the category of ad- 
vertised meetings. Much more frequent are the 
secret meetings of which nothing is said in the 
newspapers, and about which nothing is known 
except by a few people in each of the capitals. 
For instance, when intrigues were going on to 
unite Holland and Belgium in a defensive alli- 
ance called ** entente commerciale,'' when Sir 
Fairfax Cartwright sent secret reports to King 



Edward VIFs Intrigues 141 

Edward VII and to the Foreign Office about his 
pet schemes for detaching Bavaria from the Ger- 
man Confederation. Schemes were being hatched, 
plans were elaborated, for a common military and 
naval policy of England and France directed 
against Germany, and many other secret things. 
How did I get wind of these things? 

Did I employ the same ingenious methods as 
the enterprising New York journalist who wants 
to break down the habitual reticence of Mr. Mur- 
phy? Perhaps — certain stubborn obstacles con- 
front both of us : the men highest up do not and 
will not talk — the lesser chieftains must provide 
the key. 

I kept at all times in close touch with the highest 
permanent officials and their clerical subordinates 
in the three or four different chancelleries, my 
ratio of probable discovery was then one in 
three. 

When Edward VII or any other sovereign dis- 
cussed something vital with his ambassadors, or 
with other sovereigns, a full summary of it is filed 
away for future reference in Downing Street. 
This is number one. Each interested government 
is immediately confidentially notified ; in this case, 
France, by her own ambassador, who was present. 
This is filed away in the Palais d^Orsay in Paris. 
Here is opportunity number two. In addition, the 
Belgian Minister in London — being vitally inter- 



142 Revelations of an International Spy 

ested in these questions — asks Sir Edward for 
information. If he is not given it, he will find it 
out by other methods and report to his govern- 
ment ; filed away at Brussels. This makes number 
three. And so forth, granted that not every gov- 
ernment gets the full story — not even the most 
directly interested, sometimes — yet we pretty well 
know what has been withheld. Indeed, as I ex- 
plained at the very outset, it is these conversations 
in private which constitute the chief item of inter- 
est for the diplomatic espionage. It is in these 
private and ** irresponsible*^ conversations that 
policies are determined and plans decided upon, 
even in the most ^* democratic** countries. Cabi- 
nets are there to sanction, not to initiate, policies. 
If it were not so, Great Britain and Germany 
would not be at war to-day. Even British cabinet 
ministers will find many revelations in this book 
and proofs that they have been hoodwinked by 
King Edward VII, Sir Edward Grey, Sir Charles 
Hardinge, Sir Francis Bertie, Lord Esher, Sir 
Valentine Chirol, and others. Now to the ques- 
tions ! 

Did England or France, under the influence 
of the Morocco crisis of last year and the Alge- 
ciras conference of this (1906), contemplate an 
alliance! If so, what was to be its scope! 

Yes, this was agreed upon, but not on paper. 
These facts, understandings, and unwritten agree- 



Edward VIFs Intrigues 143 

ments may be likened to the nebulous matter or 
star dust of tlie ancient theory of the earth's revo- 
lution, when each little planet had its own orbit 
but gradually thickened, took on a more definite 
shape and substance, and gaining in velocity until 
it gradually came into collision with another simi- 
lar nebulous matter or star dust, uniting with it 
and forming one big fact — a new planet. 

Consequently, if by an alliance is meant a writ- 
ten treaty, signed by the respective plenipotenti- 
aries and ratified by parliament, then there was no 
alliance between England and France existing or 
contemplated. But if an alliance meant a close 
understanding between two governments on cer- 
tain well-defined points ; if it meant that common 
reciprocal or concerted action were provided for 
certain contingencies, political and military; if it 
meant that minute military and naval dispositions, 
strategical and tactical, were worked out in detail 
by a joint commission of military and naval ex- 
perts; then there did exist an alliance between 
England and France directed against Germany. 
Nothing was signed, but everything was agreed 
upon. Nothing was put into a hard and fast 
treaty of alliance, but, nevertheless, everything 
was put down on paper in the form of memoranda 
and war (naval and military) schemes and plans 
and orders. 

All these memoranda, notes, plans, exist in the 



144 Revelations of an International Spy 

secret archives of the War Office and Admiralty 
and Foreign Office in London and corresponding 
offices in Paris. And the alliance was made in this 
form in order to obviate the necessity of disclosing 
this criminal, murderous, and suicidal policy to the 
Cabinet, and to Parliament, both of which were 
against such a policy. This is a very startling 
and sensational statement, incriminating Great 
Britain before history and posterity. 

I know that I am speaking the truth ; my infor- 
mation comes directly and indirectly from first- 
hand sources, and not in a few instances I saw the 
documents in question. If the committee sug- 
gested in the Preface will be called into being, and 
they will be given unrestricted power and oppor- 
tunity, they will find all my statements contained 
in this book as absolutely and substantially cor- 
rect. But I specifically call the attention of the 
proposed Commission to the fact that these docu- 
ments and memoranda were never ** official.'' 
This was done in order to enable Grey and As- 
quith to publicly deny their existence. But they 
exist not only at the Admiralty and War Office, 
but at the Foreign Office as well — amongst the 
non-official secret documents. There was an anti- 
German, a deliberately anti-German, alliance 
agreed upon between France and England, and it 
was decided to enlarge it by buying Russia into 
it by the surrender of Northern Persia, Northern 



Edward VITs Intrigues 145 

Manchuria, Mongolia, and the Balkans, and even- 
tually Constantinople. 

The ** comprehensive" scheme agreed upon in- 
cluded the following program: 

1. The inclusion of Eussia to be preceded by an 
Anglo-Eussian agreement. 

2. Belgium and Holland to conclude a defensive 
entente. 

3. The Balkan States to be united in order to 
have their help. 

4. Denmark to be won over to a friendly neu- 
trality, growing into actual support during the 
war against Germany after decisive successes. 

5. To detach Italy from the Triple Alliance. 

6. To detach Austria from the Triple Alliance, 
or, failing this, to detach Hungary from Austria. 

7. To embark on naval and military prepara- 
tions and then, when all above are accomplished, 
to make war on Germany. 

Sir Francis Bertie, Sir Charles Hardinge, Sir 
Arthur Nicholson, were members of the inner ring 
of King Edward VII, and they were given the 
most important diplomatic posts to spin the web 
of intrigue against Germany. Sir Fairfax Cart- 
wright was scheming in Munich, as Minister to 
Bavaria, on the hopeless task of deflecting Ba- 
varia from the German Federation and to join 
Austria. Let the proposed commission call for 
his secret reports from Munich — mostly to Ed- 



146 Revelations of an International Spy 

ward instead of to the Foreign Office. Edward 
VII was so convinced of the feasibility of Sir 
Fairfax's scheme that in 1908 he transferred him 
as Ambassador to Vienna, where he continued his 
intrigues in the same direction, until Great Britain 
received a friendly hint from the Ballplatz — For- 
eign Office in Vienna — that his recall would be 
welcome. 

It was decided to humiliate Germany at the 
Algeciras Conference. Italy had already been 
won over previously by giving her Tripoli and 
promising her concessions in Somaliland, Abys- 
sinia, and Asia Minor. Italy promised to partici- 
pate with 500,000 men in France on the side of the 
Entente should war be the result of the conference. 
The same year the Anglo-Franco-Italian Abyssin- 
ian Agreement was signed. The support of Kus- 
sia was won over by actively continuing the 
Anglo-Eussian negotiations at Algeciras, which 
were commenced in 1904 (after Entente Cordiale) 
but were interrupted by the Kusso-Japanese War 
(1904-1905). 

Not only had Sir Arthur Nicholson, British Am- 
bassador at Madrid and Great Britain's chief plen- 
ipotentiary at the Algeciras Conference, frequent 
and secret discussions with Count Cassini, Eus- 
sia's chief plenipotentiary at the conference, but 
Edward VII sent specially his trusted friend Sir 
Donald Mackenzie Wallace to Algeciras actively 



Edward VIFs Intrigues 147 

to continue negotiations with Count Cassini, and 
subsequently he sent him to St. Petersburg on the 
same errand. This is how Edward and Grey 
made politics behind the back of the Cabinet and 
the Parliament of England. Sir Arthur Nichol- 
son, at the termination of the conference, was 
transferred from the Madrid to the St. Peters- 
burg Embassy and subsequently to the Foreign 
Office in London as Permanent Under-Secretary of 
Foreign Affairs. 

You see the thread that is running through all 
these moves? Edward and Grey achieved their 
aim. Germany was outvoted at the Algeciras 
Conference. Hence the conference, which the 
Kaiser called in order to remove the most danger- 
ous factor against peace in Europe — the Entente 
Cordiale and all their schemes, particularly the 
Morocco intrigue — ^was turned into one of the 
greatest factors for a European war. At the 
time even German public opinion turned against 
the Kaiser and Bulow, the Imperial Chancellor. 
The Kaiser was confident that this conference 
would bring about an agreement between Germany 
and France that would lead to a general under- 
standing between Germany and France — one of 
the cherished ambitions of his life — but this was 
made impossible by Edward VII and Grey, 
Germany at the time was thoroughly dissatisfied 
with the results of the conference and the whole 



148 Revelations of an International Spy 

German policy back of it, but when the true history 
of those years shall be written Germany and the 
world will realize how ardently and sincerely the 
Kaiser worked for a real and lasting peace in 
Europe and consequently in the world, and how 
England, the marplot of the world, or rather the 
English conspirators unknown to the people of 
England, foiled all his well-directed efforts. 

At that private conclave at Windsor Castle in 
the last week in January at which, in addition to 
King Edward, the following took part. Sir Francis 
Bertie, Sir Charles Hardinge and Monsieur Cam- 
bon, French Ambassador in London, it was de- 
cided not to drive the issues to a war, principally 
for the following reasons : 

1. Eussia's military power was completely dis- 
organized on account of the defeat of the year 
previous. Eussia was just beginning to regarri- 
son her western frontier, which she entirely 
abandoned during the Eusso-Japanese War. If 
the Kaiser really were the War Lord, why did he 
not make war in 1905, or even now in 1906, when 
he could have had everything his own way, for 
neither Eussia nor France was ready — whilst Ger- 
many was? 

2. Another factor taken account of by the secret 
meeting at Windsor was King Leopold's stand. 
He had the Belgium army partially mobilized in 
January, 1906; immense stocks of grain, flour, 



Edward VII's Intrigues 149 

and anununition had been bought to resist an in- 
vasion of Belgium by Great Britain, the troops for 
which were ready for embarkment in the Eastern 
command, Shorncliffe and Aldershot. The Com- 
mission will kindly look up the secret archives of 
the Admiralty of the War Office. 

Indeed, Leopold II was decidedly anti-English. 
He cursed the policy of Edward VII and made no 
secret as to the side on which he would fight — if he 
were drawn or forced into war. This his attitude 
prompted Grey to launch against him the Congo 
agitation, which was an attempt to force him to 
abdicate, as it was known that Prince Albert, 
the present king, favored the Anglo-French pol- 
icy. Vide the secret archives of the Foreign 
Office in Downing Street, particularly the secret 
despatches between Grey, Sir Bertie, and Sir Ar- 
thur Hardinge in Brussels. 

When the abdication proved a fiasco, England 
and France persuaded Holland and Belgium to 
enter into an entente ; a defensive entente, it was 
called. The joint commissions were commencing 
their sittings and were dining and feasting in 
Brussels, when Germany made energetic repre- 
sentations at The Hague and Brussels and asked 
whether they still considered themselves neutral 
countries. If so, they must immediately dissolve 
the commissions (this happened in 1907); con- 
trariwise, Germany would consider Holland and 



150 Revelations of an International Spy 

Belgium un-neutral and would take immediate 
steps accordingly. The commission was dis- 
solved. And now Germany demanded of Holland 
to fortify Flushing so that the contemplated 
forcing of the Scheldt by England could not be 
undertaken. But I am anticipating events. Reve- 
nons a notre mouton! 

Another reason why war was postponed in 1906 
was the strained diplomatic relations between 
France and Bulgaria. This is a very interesting 
episode and I must throw some light on it. In 
this ^* episode*' France was playing the role of the 
amiable Simian, who pulled the chestnuts out of 
the fire for the Eussian Bear. In 1905, Bulgaria 
and Servia concluded a customs union — destined 
to lead to a closer military and political under- 
standing. This did not suit Eussia! Eussia? 
My readers will surely challenge this statement. 
Quite right ! It is to be expected, in the light of 
what people know. I hear some of my readers 
asking whether I do not know, or have forgotten, 
that it was, and is, Eussia 's aim to unite the Bal- 
kan States; whether I do not know that it was 
Eussia who conceived the formation of a Balkan 
League in 1911? And so forth. Now, all this is 
sheer humbug. 

Eussia 's aim has never been to reconcile the 
Balkan States. A strong Balkan alliance would 
make it impossible for Eussia to realize her ambi- 



Edward VIFs Intrigues 151 

tions in Constantinople and in the Balkans. It 
was Kussia (supported by England) who stopped 
the victorious Bulgarian armies at Tchadaldja 
(1912), and prevented them from reaching Con- 
stantinople. Eussia is quite agreeable when the 
Balkan States unite to fight her battles against the 
Turk and Austria-Hungary (as in 1912), but she 
is decidedly against the Balkan States fighting for 
their own destiny. This will explain Bulgaria's 
attitude during the present war. Once bitten, 
twice shy. 

Furthermore, it was not Eussia but England 
who instigated the Balkan League as early as 1911, 
as I will show in a succeeding chapter. So when, 
in 1905, Bulgaria and Servia entered into a cus- 
toms union, she was displeased. She called upon 
her vassal, the French Eepublic, and told her to 
bring pressure upon Bulgaria to dissolve the 
union. Eussia, the *' protector of the Southern 
Slavs '* and the ** mother of all Slavs,'' could not 
do it herself, for that would have uncovered the 
despicable game she was playing, even to the 
densest observer. So France had to do it, and 
she did it ; anything to please Eussia, with whose 
help she hoped to take back the *4ost provinces." 
So France, at the behest of Eussia, broke off her 
negotiations then proceeding with Bulgaria for a 
Franco-Bulgarian commercial treaty! 

How mean and contemptible ! Two poor, down- 



152 Revelations of an International Spy 

trodden Balkan States consider it advantageous 
for them both to bury the hatchet, to do away with 
distrust and antagonism ; they commence by enter- 
ing into a customs union, which would have im- 
mensely benefited both. But because they do this 
— which, one should think, concerned them and 
them alone — France breaks off her negotiations 
with Bulgaria! It is hardly likely, therefore, 
that Bulgaria or Servia would have helped them 
in war. All this was discussed in Windsor with 
the greatest cynicism and naked brutality; the 
commission will find it at the Foreign Office. Look 
up minutes of this Windsor conference. Sir Ed- 
ward Grey's secret despatches to Vienna, Sofia, 
Belgrade, Paris and Berlin ! 

Another reason for postponing war was the 
very serious Anglo-Turkish dispute about Egyp- 
tian frontier questions. There was a large and 
well-equipped Turkish force on the Egyptian fron- 
tier. The upshot looked decidedly nasty. Great 
Britain resorted to a time-honored expediency 
during Anglo-Turkish strained relations : a rising 
in the Yemen. This was cleverly engineered. 
So 1906 was not a favorable time to fall like 
vultures upon Germany — it was deferred. The 
Kaiser, needless to say, knew all this. If Wilhelm 
II was possessed of a mad zeal for blood letting, 
was not this the great opportunity to strike 1 And 
he was insistently pressed to do so by a very in- 



Edward VITs Intrigues 153 

fluential party in Germany, but he declined. He 
declined on the high moral grounds that he would 
not make war unless absolutely forced to do so in 
order to protect the Fatherland. On the contrary, 
he continued his peace efforts and hoped they 
might be successful. Alas, Edward VII and his 
conspirators made this impossible ! 

Eeviewing those years of acute and dangerous 
tension, those years during which the Kaiser held 
out his hand of friendship and expressed his sin- 
cere desire that the Morocco Agreement might 
lead to an open agreement with France upon all 
questions, those years represent for France the 
missed opportunity which may never return. 
And whose fault is it? Primarily Edward VII ^s 
and Sir Francis Bertie's. See secret archives in 
Foreign Office in London. All this and many 
other matters of a similar nature, all tending in 
the same direction, were discussed by King Ed- 
ward VII at Windsor with his confidential con- 
spirators. 

So the Algeciras Conference was the commence- 
ment of a very serious tension between England 
and Germany. France and Germany reached an 
agreement on the Morocco question. The Kaiser, 
though out-voted, was satisfied, for he was sin- 
cerely desirous and ardently hopeful that on this 
agreement he might build up the Franco- German 
concord, so strongly desired by him. But Great 



154 Revelations of an International Spy 

Britain foiled this, and the world was treated to a 
second Morocco crisis in 1911. More of this anon. 
When, in March, King Edward VII visited 
Paris incognito, he affirmed all the above to Presi- 
dent Fallieres. He invited Delcasse to the Eitz 
Hotel, where he stayed ; he publicly testified to the 
fact that he still continued the policy of Delcasse 
and his own — to isolate Germany. Delcasse was 
at this time merely a private individual and his 
visit to King Edward created great astonishment. 
Thus we see how the present war was carefully 
and deliberately conceived and planned during the 
years 1902-06. But the year of 1907 was even 
more portentous. It is the year in which the 
Triple Entente conspiracy blossomed forth. 



Emperor Menelik of Abyssinia. 



CHAPTER V 

AN ABYSSINIAN INTRIGUE 

BEFORE, however, pursuing the intrigues of 
the Triple Entente, I must deal with an 
international matter which took place be- 
tween 1903-06 and which is but additional proof 
of the brutal selfishness and unscrupulous plot- 
tings of Downing Street. 

I have related in the previous chapter that I 
made the acquaintance of a Herr Rosenkranz in 
Copenhagen during 1906, and that in September I 
again met him in Berlin, where I was spending ten 
days. Both of us are partizans of a glass of genu- 
ine Rhine or Moselle and as we sat in the Garden 
of the Kaiser-Keller in Friedrichstrasse, discuss- 
ing past adventures in international politics, 
Rosenkranz related to me the story of the Abys- 
sinian intrigue, without disclosing his part in fer- 
reting out the facts. I was very much interested 
in his narrative and even more in the documents 
he showed me next day. He was good enough to 
make me a present of some of them, which I am 
keeping among my collection of interesting curios 
of diplomatic espionage. He was also good 

155 



156 Revelations of an International Spy 

enough to give me some unique photographs he 
had taken himself of the Emperor Menelik in his 
full *' canonicals'' and also of M. Ilg his '* Cham- 
berlain," the members of the Austrian Commer- 
cial Embassy and the cuirassiers of the German 
Expedition. 

Abyssinia, a country of great natural wealth 
and of strategical importance, drew early the at- 
tention of some of the European Powers. In 
1805, Great Britain sent a mission under Lord 
Valentia to Abyssinia to conclude an alliance with 
Abyssinia and to obtain a port on the Ked Sea, in 
case France should secure Egypt by dividing up 
the Turkish Empire with Eussia. During 1838 
and 1848, Northern Abyssinia was divided into two 
camps ; the one, Amhara and Ras Ali, under Prot- 
estant British; the other, Tigre and Ulre, under 
Roman Catholic French influence. 

The latent hostility between the two factions 
threatened to develop into a religious war. In 
April 13, 1868, Negus Theodore died; he was 
mysteriously killed,^ and Menelik gained in power, 
defeating Ras Bareya of Tigre, the Ras of Am- 
hara, and Tekla Giorgis, with help of British rifles 
and guns presented to him by the British Govern- 
ment. In 1870 an Italian company bought of the 
local Sultan Assab a port near the southern 
entrance of the Red Sea and, after adding to it 
more land by purchase, it was bought out by the 

1 Downing Street can explain how and why. 



An Abyssinian Intrigue 157 

Italian Government in 1882. Soon afterwards 
Count Pietro Antonelli was sent to Shoa to im- 
prove by treaties with Menelik and the Sultan of 
Aussa the prospects of an Italian colony. 

In January, 1885, Italians occupied Beilul, a 
port in the north of Assab Bay; some time later 
they took Massowa, an Egyptian port. This was 
strongly resented by Abyssinia, as they had 
treaties with Britain and Egypt for free transit 
of goods through this port. Up to 1887, Italy was 
systematically occupying the country round their 
ports and placing a large number of troops. In 
January of this year the Italian General Gene 
refused to withdraw his troops, after which re- 
fusal the Abyssinians attacked a detachment of 
500 Italians, killing nearly 400 at Dozali. Great 
Britain sent a mission under Sir Gerald Portal to 
try and mediate between the Italians and Abyssin- 
ians, but he failed utterly and returned after many 
hardships in Egypt. 

Abyssinia has no port of her own. It is en- 
closed in the west by Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, in 
the east by British Somaliland, in the south 
also by English possession, while in the north 
by French and Italian Somaliland (Eurytrear). 

Great Britain knew how to secure the imports 
and exports of Abyssinia. The port from which 
the domination of Abyssinia's trade and com- 
merce is carried out is Aden, almost opposite 



158 Revelations of an International Spy 

Djibuti, the French port of Abyssinia. There are 
bi-weekly steamers from Aden to Djibuti. At the 
time under review no steamer of any European 
or any other country had called at Djibuti — this 
was achieved by England ^s consistent and per- 
petual opposition and intrigue against the estab- 
lishment of a coaling station at Djibuti. All 
steamers passing eastward call for their coal at 
Aden. Abyssinia is a country of enormous natu- 
ral wealth — the existence of which England had 
the best knowledge. It has always been the 
policy of England, through might, intrigues, or 
downright bad faith, to prevent other nations get- 
ting a share in the opening up of Abyssinia. 

The chief exports from Abyssinia are coffee,^ 
timber, and skins ; the imports, cotton goods, small 
arms and ammunition and hardware, nearly the 
whole of which was done through English agents 
in Abyssinia. 

Meanwhile, as we have seen, Menelik became 
Emperor of Abyssinia. He, in spite of English 
opposition and intrigues, surrounded himself by 
European advisors in order to benefit his country 
by the gradual absorption of European ideas and 
methods. However, England succeeded in pre- 
venting this. When Italy began to develop her 
aspirations and ** pacific penetration" from Eury- 
trea, England incited Menelik to a war against 

iThis coflFee is re-packed in Aden and sold as real Mocha. 




Cavalrj^ Squad of the German Expedition. 




M. Ilg and the Dignitaries of the Commercial Mission; the third 

from the right is Count Szechenyi, Who Married 

Miss Gladys Vanderbilt. 



An Abyssinian Intrigue 159 

Italy, in which Italy was terribly defeated by Eas 
Maconen. "When the war was over England was 
the undisputed master. 

France has always been desirous of developing 
the trade of her possession Djibuti, the only port 
and door through which the world trade must and 
does pass. The French obtained a concession 
from Menelik to build a railway from Djibuti to 
Adis Abeba, the capital in the interior. England 
protested against this concession and obtained an 
alteration in the concession to the effect that the 
railway must be built jointly by England and 
France. The French immediately started with 
the building of the line in their own territory, i. e., 
from Djibuti to Harar, and were willing and ready 
to continue it from there to Adis Abeba jointly 
with England. But until this day nothing has 
been done. Consequently the French section has 
become and remained useless; indeed, the com- 
pany which built it went bankrupt and the French 
Government had to come to their rescue. 

After 1897 British influence, owing to the con- 
quest of Sudan and the destruction of Dervish 
power and particularly as a result of the Fashoda 
incident described in a previous chapter, was in- 
creasing day by day. France occupied only a 
secondary position. Austria, forced by an un- 
stable situation in the Balkan States to look for 
new markets for her exports, had her attention 



160 Revelations of an International Spy 

directed to the vast possibilities of Abyssinia by 
one of her prominent exporters. This gentleman 
fitted out a commercial expedition to Abyssinia, 
which arrived in Djibuti, February 19, 1904. 

In the previous year the United States sent a 
mission to Adis Abeba (the capital of Abyssinia) 
and concluded a commercial treaty with Menehk. 
This Austrian expedition had the support of the 
Austro-Hungarian Government, as is proved by 
the subjoined, original letter from the Austrian 
Foreign Office. From this official document it is 
clear that the Austrian mission was a purely pri- 
vate and commercial undertaking, and it is also 
clear from the same letter that the Austrian For- 
eign Office communicated through the Austrian 
Embassy with the French Government. The mis- 
sion reached Adis Abeba on the 29th of March, 
1904, where, thanks to the letters from Minister 
Ilg to Emperor Menelik, they were very well re- 
ceived. Herr Ilg was a kind of Foreign Minister 
and Chief European Adviser of Menelik. 

The two reproductions on the following page are 
from the original letters of introduction written 
by Mr. Ilg, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Euro- 
pean Adviser of Emperor Menelik of Abyssinia. 

Menelik granted a concession to this Austrian 
mission for opening branch offices anywhere in 
Abyssinia for trading purposes. Menelik ex- 
pressed his desire to enter into a commercial 



An Abyssinian Intrigue 161 

TRANSLATION 
Majesty : — 

I greet you. God give you health. How are you? M. , bearer 

of this letter, comes from the Land of Austria, and he wants to study 
in Aethiopia (to study the opportunities) in order to carry on commerce 
and trade. I recommend him to your Majesty and beg your Majesty to 
assist him in his endeavors. Written in the city of Ziirich on the 20th 
day of the Tekdmt (October) in the year of 1896.* 

Your Majesty's Servant, 

(Signed) M. Ilg. 

TRANSLATION 
His Highness Ras Maconen: 

I greet, God give you health. How do you feel? 

I am recommending to you Bearer of this letter, M. , who ia from 

the Land of Austria and is going to Aethiopia (Abyssinia) in order to 
obtain from His Majesty permission to trade there and to study. Assist 
him in his endeavors and conduct him to His Majesty. Written in the 
city of Ziirich on the 20th day of Tekomt (October) in the year 1896. 

Your friend, 

(Signed) M. Ilg. 

* The Abyssinian calendar is seven years behind our own; so these let- 
ters were written in 1903. 



162 Revelations of an International Spy 

treaty with the Austrian Government and in- 
tended sending a letter to the Austrian Emperor. 
Immediately after Menelik thus expressed his 
desire, Great Britain started her intrigues and put 
every possible difficulty in the way of the Austrian 
mission, and even succeeded in persuading Em- 
peror Menelik not to send the intended letter to 
Emperor Francis Joseph I. 

The French Government — this time enemies of 
Great Britain, particularly in all questions af- 
fecting Africa — ^heartily supported the Austrian 
mission. The Austrian Government, meanwhile, 
being convinced of the great possibilities for com- 
mercial development in Abyssinia, decided to send 
a political mission in order to conclude a commer- 
cial treaty with Emperor Menelik. The Austrian 
Lloyd of Triest established a regular sailing be- 
tween Triest and D Jibuti. 

Germany has hitherto held herself quite aloof 
from Abyssinian adventures — prompted to do so 
by her desire to avoid any possible friction in that 
part of the world between herself and France. 
But the activity of her ally drew her attention to 
Abyssinia, and she decided to send a political 
mission to Emperor Menelik. This brought Eus- 
sia, too, on the scene. The three missions, Rus- 
sian, German, and Austrian arrived in Djibuti in 
January, 1905. Menelik entered into conunercial 
treaties with all three missions, but Germany ob- 




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An Abyssinian Intrigue 163 

tained the most favorable terms of any nation, due 
entirely to the composition of their mission. They 
sent with their mission a squad of one of their 
crack cavalry regiments, which immensely im- 
pressed Menelik. 

Great Britain and France had by this time com- 
posed their differences all the world over, having 
signed the Anglo-French Treaty (Entente Cor- 
diale) on the 8th of April, 1904. They now com- 
bined to oust German and Austrian interests from 
Abyssinia, which they have accomplished by 
getting hold of the finances and railways of the 
country. The Bank of Abyssinia was established 
with British gold, France participating one-fourth 
in the subscribed capital. 

By the terms of the Anglo-French-Italian agree- 
ment of 13th of December, 1906, it was decided 
that France should build the railway as far as 
Adis Abeba, while railroads built west of that 
place should be British, and any line connecting 
with Italian possessions and colonies on the Eed 
Sea should be built by Italy. This is but a little- 
known episode in the sphere of international ri- 
valry and intrigues, but it amplifies England ^s 
brutal selfishness in obstructing the legitimate and 
peaceful aspirations of other nations, except in- 
deed that they agree to play second fiddle to her. 
England and France treated Austria and Germany 
as they had Germany in the Morocco question — 



164 Revelations of an International Spy 

utterly ignoring her claims to trade interest. 
Italy, however, was let into the fold as part con- 
sideration of her support at the Algeciras Con- 
ference. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE TRIPLE ENTENTE CONSPIEACY 
(1907-1911) 

LET us return to Paris ! Gay Paris, beau- 
tiful Paris, charming Paris. It is No- 
vember, 1906. I moved to Paris for per- 
manent residence there, for a time; only occa- 
sionally going to Brussels for two or three days. 
November in Paris — chacun a son gout — is to me 
more delightful than May or August, with the 
heat from above and from below the asphalt. But 
in November! There is the crispness, the sharp- 
ness of fall; the foggy atmosphere in the morn- 
ing, but infrequent during this period, only lends 
it a more autumnal color. The Bois de Boulogne 
with the kaleidoscopic colors of the leaves on trees 
and covering the ground, is a revelry such as one 
seldom beholds. The bracing November morning 
brings out the rosy colors on the cheeks of the 
midinettes, the hurrying boulevardiers and boule- 
vardieres are clad in becoming overcoats, the char- 
coal fires on the terraces of the cafes — all this 
combined creates a milieu, a scene superbly Pari- 

165 



166 Revelations of an International Spy 

sian. And not to forget that tout le monde is back 
in Paris! It is ^ too late for Vichy or Contrexe- 
ville or any of the summer resorts and it is too 
early for the Cote d^Azur — the incomparable 
French Riviera. Everybody is back, everybody 
is about town. 

In the year 1907 there were some important 
moves executed on the international chessboard. 
At the tournament of 1906 in Algeciras, by a skill- 
ful usage of a bishop (Italy) and by a courageous 
handling of two pawns (Morocco and Egypt), they 
intended to checkmate the Kaiser. All Edward 
achieved was, however, a drawn game. Several 
important figures and pawns were knocked down 
and each player rearranged his figures with the 
grim determination to win. The bystanders — 
Europe and the world at large — ^were the while 
looking on amidst great tension, distrust, and 
alarm. The atmosphere was decidedly threaten- 
ing, and charged with suppressed emotions and 
animosity in the antagonistic groups of players 
and partizans. The moves were briskly, ener- 
getically made; a keen observer could see that 
both players were determined to win; it could 
also be seen that no quarter was given. The 
game was long drawn out. The Kaiser repeat- 
edly tried to capture the queen (France) of Ed- 
ward, hoping that once that is accomplished the 
king (Russia) would be easy capture. 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 167 

Edward made frantic efforts to win the game. 
He played as follows: 

First of all he placed one of his knights and 
one bishop in such a position (Edward visits 
King of Spain and King of Italy, April, 1907) 
that no unforeseen attack could be made on his 
queen (France) in that quarter (Edward and his 
consort also visit Paris in February). He then 
moved his king behind the queen (Russian squad- 
ron visits England in March). In May he placed 
one of his castles (Japan) in front of the queen 
(France) to prevent trouble in that quarter 
(Franco- Japanese Agreement, signed May, 1907). 
To further play a safe move he put the king (Rus- 
sia) behind this double protection (Russo-Japan- 
ese Treaty, signed June, and July). He 
strengthened his king (Russia) by placing some 
of the pawns around it. (East China and South 
Manchuria Railway convention between Japan 
and Russia, signed June 13; June 28th Russo- 
Japanese fisheries arranged and a treaty of com- 
merce and navigation signed.) 

When Edward made the above moves, some of 
his backers exchanged portentous smiles (Isvol- 
sky and Motono sign the general agreement be- 
tween Russia and Japan in St. Petersburg, July 
30th) and shook hands in joy. (Grey and Is- 
volsky sign the Anglo-Russian agreement of 
August 31st.) To be quite exact, Edward was 



168 Revelations of an International Spy 

tired of playing, he retired to dinner (Marien- 
bad) but Grey made the moves for him and when 
accomplished he was notified (Edward notified on 
2nd of September of signing of the Anglo-Russian 
agreement; a king^s messenger bringing the news 
to him while he was sitting at dinner at Hotel 
Weimar in Marienbad, his guest being the Grand 
Duke Alexandrovitch of Russia and Mons. Oro- 
zier, French Ambassador in Vienna). 

But Grey was not a very steady player. In 
moving the king behind his barricades of protec- 
tion, he upset a pawn; absit omen! (in August, 
Cossacks bombard Parliament in Teheran), and 
the queen (France) falls upon another pawn 
(French bombard Casablanca in Morocco in Au- 
gust). Edward, to make the winning of the game 
quite sure, brought in additional friends to sur- 
round himself, as it were, to overawe the Kaiser 
(military reforms in England; Territorial army 
constituted). All these moves did not disturb 
the Kaiser. Indeed he, too, was absent, cruising 
in Norwegian waters, but his substitute player, 
Emperor Francis Joseph I, caught quite a bagful 
of pawns (had fifty-three southern Slavs arrested 
for high treason in August). The game was ad- 
journed till next day (1908). 

The first move was made by the Kaiser, he ad- 
vanced one of his knights, threatening thereby a 
pawn (Balkans) and the king (Russia) of Ed- 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 169 

ward. (Aerenthal announces on the 27th of Jan- 
uary, 1908, to the Austro-Hungarian delegations 
that he will soon obtain the Sultan's concession 
to prolong Austrian railways as far as Mitro- 
vitza.) Edward counteracted this move by mov- 
ing one of his Balkan pawns in attack on a pawn 
of the Kaiser (Turkey). (Grey addresses pro- 
posals to all signatory Powers making very rad- 
ical proposals of reform for Macedonia.) 

A decided move at last by the Kaiser brings 
home to Edward the great danger attending his 
game and he calls in some more supporters to 
surround him, so that in the event of losing they 
might bodily capture the Kaiser. (March 18th 
and 20th, special navy orders issued, and on 31st 
Haldane's army reform comes into effect.) 

The day finished amidst the greatest tension. 
The finishing moves of the Kaiser barred the 
main position of Edward and threatened a veri- 
table holocaust amongst his pawns and even more 
important figures, unless indeed he changed his 
tactics. Next day (1909) there was a great 
alarm in Edward's camp at a review of the gen- 
eral position. (Navy scare in England, Febru- 
ary, 1909.) Edward's camp started the day with 
low spirits. They played a reckless game and 
they knew it. Their hearts dropped in them at 
the memory of the Kaiser's queen's (Austria- 
Hungary) last night's bag (Aerenthal 's energetic 



170 Revelations of an International Spy 

MOVES MEANING 



Edward, frightened by the 
Kaiser's move, pushes his 
king (Russia) behind a pawn 
( Balkan ) , threatening the 
Kaiser's pawn (Turkey). 



This move by Edward 
evoked signs of approval on 
the part of all his backers. 

Two moves were now made 
by Edward, which had fatal 
consequences. He brought the 
king and queen back to their 
original positions, but which 
was now much stronger on ac- 
count of frontal protection. 



The Kaiser replied by mov- 
ing forward one pawn (Tur- 
key) and taking Edward's 
"frontal protection." The Kai- 
ser pushed his queen (Austria- 
Hungary) forward and took 
two important figures (Bosnia 
and Herzegovina). 



Russia addresses on the 
28th of March to all Powers 
proposals for the reform of 
Macedonia less radical than 
the English, but more ad- 
vanced than any hitherto 
emanating from Austro-Rus- 
sian pact. 



With the exception of Ger- 
many and Austria-Hungary all 
Powers signified their adhesion 
to Russia's proposals. 

King Edward and President 
Falliere exchanged toasts, 
"strengthening the Entente 
and rendering it more per- 
manent." (June.) 

Immediately after Edward 
hurried to Reval to see the 
Tsar. There he put Russia's 
head into a hornet's nest of 
Balkans. 



After Edward's visit to 
Reval, Young Turkish Revolu- 
tion broke out (July 23rd), 
upsetting for the time all the 
schemes of Edward on the 
Balkans and Turkey. 

Austria - Hungary annexes 
Bosnia and Herzegovina. 



The game stood adjourned. 

action). The Kaiser cleverly seizing this oppor- 
tunity, nearly captured Edward's queen (Franco- 
German agreement about Morocco, February, 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 171 

1909). Meanwhile Edward ^s king fell upon 
some pawns, knocking them over (Russia sends 
troops into Northern Persia) in February. Ed- 
ward seeing that he would not be able to beat 
Germany at the diplomatic game, secures his 
king (Russia) in a safe position (Russia acknowl- 
edges and accepts the annexation of Bosnia, 
March), and brings in more partizans in order 
eventually to capture the Kaiser (increased navy 
estimates in England, March). Edward wrings 
his queen (France) from the Kaiser, whereupon 
the Kaiser makes a very determined move for 
her (Germany sends the Panther to Agadir). 
The king's (Russia's) continual knocking over of 
pawns, due to Edward's elbows, creates displeas- 
ure among some of his followers, whereupon one 
pawn is sacrificed (Col. Liakhoff is recalled from 
Persia at England's request and Shah Moham- 
med Ali is deposed to pacify English public opin- 
ion). 

The game again stood adjourned. But was 
continued next day (1910) and the following 
(1911) without any results to either side. Ed- 
ward VII has meantime died and his place was 
taken by a triumvirate, i.e., Sir Edward Grey, 
Mons. Sazonoff, and M. Isvolsky. They made a 
determined effort (in 1912) to bother the Kaiser's 
two principal figures (Austria-Hungary and Tur- 
key) through the Balkan League, but achieved 



172 Revelations of an International Spy 

only the loosing of all their pawns. (The Bal- 
kan League broken up.) From this day on the 
game was played with great acrimony, notwith- 
standing the fact that the Kaiser — in a last at- 
tempt — asked one of his supporters to go over 
to Grey and talk to him in order to terminate 
the game by mutual consent and shake hands. 
(The Kaiser sends Marshal von Bieberstein as 
Ambassador to London.) Unfortunately when 
he reached Grey^s camp he was seized with a 
fatal illness. Previous to this Grey sent one of 
his lieutenants to the Kaiser on the same errand, 
but without being backed up by honest good will. 
Haldane's visit to Berlin fruitless as Grey was 
unwilling to accept terms for fear of offending 
Eussia or France. 

It was evident that this game of chess must end 
by involving in serious conflict all the opposing 
camps and their partizans. In July, 1914, Sazo- 
nofP, the Eussian Foreign Minister, pushed one of 
his pawns (Servia) and took the Kaiser ^s castle 
(Archduke Francis Ferdinand), although accord- 
ing to the rule of the game this ought not to have 
been done as there were covered fields between 
them. Exasperated by this wanton act and by 
innumerable others during the course of the play, 
it was demanded that the pawn should be handed 
over to the Kaiser (Austria demands from Servia 
the punishment of the criminals). A heated and 




Kladdcradatscli, March. 1910. 

Der perfekte Billardspieler im Hotel de I'Europe. 

This prophetic cartoon, inspired hy the Algeciras Conference, shows King 
Edward playing billiards ( ?) with six balls. The four balls in line with the 
cue are Italy, France, Russia and Serbia; Serbia the first in motion strikes 
Austria, which puts Germany into action. This amazing forecast of the war 
was correct save for England, which has no ball in the game, though King 
Edward is the player. 

"Hm ! Der Ball will iiberlegt sein ! Direkt werde ich ihn nicht 

machen konnen." 

[**This is a difficult shot ; I cannot make it direct."] 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 173 

bitter discussion ensued. Sazonoff refused and 
in this refusal he was backed up by Grey and 
Poincare, who would not listen to the pleadings 
of the rules. 

We are all familiar with the quick succession 
of events that followed Austria's ultimatum to 
Servia and Servians reply; how on July 25th the 
Kussian army was mobilized and warning was 
sent to Germany. It will be remembered that on 
July 30th, the Kaiser called on Russia to halt 
mobilization within twenty-four hours — a warn- 
ing unheeded by Russia — which was followed by 
Germany's declaration of war on August 1st. 
On the next day Germany invaded France after 
the seizure of Luxemburg and three days later 
England declared war on Germany; the Kaiser's 
army had now reached Liege and had crossed the 
French border near Mars-la-Tour. 

The moves paraphrased in the preceding pages 
are plain to everybody; in the following pages I 
propose to detail some of the hidden moves of the 
Triple Entente conspiracy. 

In January, 1907, there were important move- 
ments and events taking place in some of the de- 
partments of France (for instance, around Tou- 
lon, Brest, Creuzot), and it was my duty to find 
out what exactly was happening and also to find 
out their connection with the intelligence obtained 
throughout the year previous in Paris, Brussels, 



174 Revelations of an International Spy 

and Copenhagen. I therefore obtained a new 
letter from the British Embassy, Paris, addressed 
to all the British consular officers in France, and 
went and visited the ones I wanted. Through 
them I was introduced to the prefects (heads 
of departments). Tact, amiability, bonhomie, 
shrewdness, and a good bottle of a favorite wine 
over a fine dinner unloosened the tongue of all 
these high functionaries. What I did not learn 
from them I learned from the arsenal officials. 
And what was this! 

France was making energetic preparations for 
a war with Germany. That's it! Not prepara- 
tion, but preparations for a war with Germany 
— which can be verified from the records at the 
ministry of war and navy. The preparations — 
and this is important to remember — were under- 
taken on a plan of a joint action with Great Brit- 
ain. The steps taken at Brest and Toulon, for 
instance, the schemes elaborated and carried into 
effect, were based on the understanding that Eng- 
land would look after the northern coasts of 
France. Grey admitted so much himself in 1914, 
although the arrangement, as he wants us to be- 
lieve, was entered into in 1912. 

I maintain and I know my subject, tentative 
arrangements to this effect were discussed and 
accepted in 1906. Indeed, the whole campaign, 
both in its offensive and defensive tactics, now 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 175 

carried out in Flanders by the Anglo-French 
forces was being discussed in Aldershot between 
General Sir John French and a French military 
mission. In subsequent years these plans were 
elaborated and finally fixed. In 1906 Sir John 
French was given leave of absence on condition 
that he would go to France to learn French, which 
he did, for even then he was designated as the 
commander-in-chief of the expeditionary forces 
against Germany. Will Sir Edward Grey dare 
deny this f But for the sake of argument, let us 
admit that Grey is right. That the arrangement 
dates from 1912, the date of those letters ex- 
changed with M. Cambon. Why did he not notify 
the Cabinet of those letters, say at the next cabi- 
net meeting after their exchange but waited till 
1914? Much interesting light can be shed on this 
point by my proposed committee. 

The secrets of the French Foreign Office that 
M. Legrange had finally divulged and which 
had reached me at Brussels confirmed my inves- 
tigations in two other diplomatic centers. The 
gist of it all was, that King Edward, after his 
visit to his beloved Paris of unforgettable mem- 
ories, undertook to negotiate with Alfonso of 
Spain, thereby securing an extension of the chain 
of ententes. Unsuccessful in this, he tried to 
understand why it was he could not secure Spain's 
benevolent attitude. He had not learned the first 



176 Revelations of an International Spy 

primer lesson of diplomacy and espionage — verify 
your internal politics either church or state. 

He did not realize that the Catholics in 
Spain were too powerful and they would not 
permit the country actively to assist the anti- 
Catholic French republic. Germany, besides, had 
a great influence at the Vatican, through her ally 
Austria-Hungary and on account of the far-reach- 
ing policy steadily pursued by the Kaiser William 
II towards the Vatican — even though his own peo- 
ple misunderstood and disliked his policy. In- 
deed, the scheme of launching an anti-Catholic 
propaganda in Spain was touched upon in Paris 
— it was rejected by Edward VII upon the 
grounds that it might either reestablish the Carl- 
ists in Spain, or bring about a republic, to both 
of which he was opposed on political and dynas- 
tic grounds. His niece. Princess Ena of Bat- 
tenberg, is Queen of Spain. It was considered 
sufficient to have a definite understanding from 
Spain that during the coming European War she 
would not disturb the peace in Morocco, but would 
abide by the Franco-Spanish Treaty of 1904. 
An agreement was signed in May between France, 
England, and Spain. 

Secondly, it was decided to gain Italy's active 
support for the contemplated war, although it 
was considered advisable that Italy should con- 
tinue to remain a member of the Triple Alliance. 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 177 

I must say that it was very difficult to secure this 
— on account of French-Italian antagonistic in- 
terests in the Mediterranean and in North Africa. 
France was urged by Edward to hasten the com- 
pletion of arrangements then pending between 
France and Japan. In his schemes Japan would 
look after the Germans in China and in the Pa- 
cific — though this was kept a profound secret. 
Not even France was informed of these arrange- 
ments, carried out faithfully by Japan in the 
present war ; because Edward VII feared if Eus- 
sia knew of the arrangements the Anglo-Kussian 
agreement, so near accomplishment, might be in- 
definitely postponed; and, secondly, England 
feared that the United States would then be sus- 
picious — the last thing they desired. 

England was willing to hand over Persia to 
Russia and the Far East to Japan in order to 
smash Germany. And I go further and say that 
the British Ambassador in Japan warned the 
British government that in the coming conflict 
Japan would seize China. His objections and 
warnings were brushed aside, Edward remarking : 

** First we must deal with Germany — we must 
have Japan *s help for that. If then the yellows 
get too strong, we shall deal with them.^* He 
actually used the expression ''les jaunes/' 

He was bent on one purpose and one purpose 
only — to isolate Germany and then break up the 



178 Revelations of an International Spy 

Confederation of the German Empire. Lord 
Salisbury — when at the head of Foreign Affairs 
— coined a very significant phrase. He used to 
say to his subordinates; *^ Consult large maps.'' 
Now, it must be admitted, Edward consulted 
** large maps.'' His conception was all embrac- 
ing, his vision extended far and wide, no mate- 
rial fact or factor escaped his attention. He 
looked round and he beheld Austria-Hungary 
torn by internal strife and ^^nationality ques- 
tions." "What a fine fruit to pluck — it seemed all 
but ripe for it. He casts his eyes there. Studi- 
ously he courted Austria-Hungary in order to 
detach her from Germany, and Hungary in order 
to detach her from Austria. Every method was 
tried — ^persuasion, cajolery, and the big stick 
(Kussia) against the monarchy, the southern 
Slavs against Hungary. 

Nearer home, he beheld little Belgium. What 
a splendid situation geographically to turn the 
German armies invading France; what an oppor- 
tunity to strike Germany at her vitals: West- 
phalia. Such an opportunity could not escape the 
eyes of him, ** whose only thought was the promo- 
tion of peace." Concurrently with these ** peace- 
ful" schemes the naval and military forces of 
England, France and Russia were to be reorgan- 
ized. One remark! These schemes and pro- 
posals were not turned out as it were — ^hard and 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 179 

fast at one secret sitting, during one visit of the 
King to Paris. Oh, no ! for more than six years 
these schemes were discussed and carried out, 
** unofficially '* between London and Paris, Paris 
and St. Petersburg, London and St. Petersburg, 
etc. Edward got busy. In April (1907) he 
started his cruise in the Mediterranean, he met 
Alfonso and Emmanuel. He was entirely suc- 
cessful with Alfonso, but there were difficulties 
with Italy, which formed the subject of many ne- 
gotiations, and which were only removed this year 
amidst the real dangers of defeat at the hands of 
the Germans. 

In March, a Eussian squadron visited England 
— the sailors were feted; a hint to the people of 
England of the coming Anglo-Kussian Agree- 
ment, of the precise nature of which they were 
ignorant, and had they understood would have 
heartily disapproved. On the other hand, there 
were influential committees in England and Ger- 
many — ^backed by public opinion, sincerely striv- 
ing to bring about an understanding between the 
two countries, but this commendable object was 
deliberately defeated by Edward VII, Sir Edward 
Grey, and the others. 

This year (1907) saw indeed the development 
of Edward's schemes. In June and July a series 
of agreements and conventions were signed be- 
tween France and Japan, and Eussia and Japan. 



180 Revelations of an International Spy 

In August, France thought she might proceed one 
step further in Morocco and provided ^ incidents" 
to bombard Casablanca. England in the same 
month embarked on military reforms. The agi- 
tation paid with English and Russian and French 
gold was beginning to be busy in Hungary — the 
Hungarian government arrested fifty-three of 
their victims for high treason. The last day of 
the month of August the Triple Entente became 
an accomplished fact. The Anglo-Russian 
agreement was signed — to the imperishable shame 
of Great Britain and to the memory of Edward 
VII and his henchmen — as history will unerringly 
testify. For it meant the strangulation of Persia, 
a ** small nation/' it caused the Balkan Wars, 
and the present world conflict. 

Edward VII was taking the cure at Marienbad 
— in Austria-Hungary. There Edward kept his 
** court." Statesmen came and statesmen went, 
Marienbad was the center of the world-wide con- 
spiracy. Edward was a great stage manager, in 
addition to his other qualities. On the 2nd of 
September it was, if I remember rightly. He in- 
vited to dinner in his apartments at the Hotel 
Weimar in Marienbad the Grand Duke Alexan- 
drovitch of Russia and Monsieur Crozier, French 
Ambassador in Vienna. 

During dinner, when the Stimmung of all three 
was happy, in comes one of his adjutants, bring- 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 181 

ing him official news of the crowning of his work 
— the signing of the Anglo-French Agreement. 
A momentous achievement. There, in that com- 
paratively small room in Marienbad, three per- 
sons over an exquisite dinner receive news, des- 
tined to change the face of the world, with hilar- 
ity, pleasure, and with exultation over the results 
to be realized within seven years! But such is 
hatred. It dims the vision, it corrupts the 
senses. 

'*C'est le premier pas, mon cher Guillaume!" 
exclaimed Edward. Three days afterwards — 
watch the staging of it — Mr. Isvolsky, Eussian 
Foreign Minister, who the day before arrived in 
Karlsbad, motors over to Marienbad to see Ed- 
ward VII. Count Pahlen of the Eussian Foreign 
Office accompanied him. This visit was intended 
to intimidate Austria-Hungary. *^My dear fel- 
low, you see who we are, you had better make up 
your mind.'' A demonstration against Austria- 
Hungary on her own hospitable soil. Between 
Edward and Isvolsky schemes were discussed, 
which we shall see blossoming forth in 1908, and 
will, consequently, discuss them there. Before 
we leave the year 1907, 1 should like to point out 
a remarkable ^ * coincidence " and relate a remark- 
able ** episode." The coincidence is, that almost 
concurrently with the signing of the Anglo-Eus- 
sian Agreement, the Tzar's officer, Colonel Liak- 



182 Revelations of an International Spy 

hoff, bombarded the Persian Parliament in Te- 
heran. 

Celeste was gone! For this and other rea- 
sons, which will be obvious to the reader, Mon- 
sieur Legrange ceased to be of any interest or 
usefulness to me. I devised a nice little scheme 
to ^^ capture'' another official at the French For- 
eign Office. In this scheme the following per- 
sonages were dramatis personce: 

Lord Edmund Fitzmaurice, Under-Secretary of 
State for Foreign Affairs. 

Sir William Tyrrel, Sir Edward Grey's prin- 
cipal private secretary. 

Mr. Ponsonby — Sir Henry Campbell-Banner- 
man's (Prime Minister's) principal private sec- 
retary. 

Sir Francis Bertie, British Ambassador in 
Paris. 

The Hon. Keginald Lister of the British Em- 
bassy in Paris with the rank of minister. 

Mr. Louis, head of the political department of 
the Foreign Office in Paris (and later French Am- 
bassador in St. Petersburg). The incident was 
as follows: 

I wanted to establish connections with a new 
official of the French Foreign Office. This, how- 
ever, was not easy, for the following reason : It 
was easy, because natural, to establish connection 
with the French Foreign Office at the commence- 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 183 

ment of my investigation for Mr. Rowntree. Sir 
Edward Grey asked Sir Francis Bertie to do all 
he could for me. I wanted to have introductions 
to various ministries. Now, diplomatic etiquette 
forbids that any ambassador should officially cor- 
respond or have any official intercourse with any 
ministry save with the Ministry of Foreign Af- 
fairs. Consequently at the commencement of my 
work, the British Embassy officially introduced 
me to the French Foreign Office, requesting them 
to assist me in any mission. The French Foreign 
Office then officially introduced me to any of the 
ministries I wanted. 

After about a lapse of a year and a half when 
I had connections with all, I could not ask the 
British Ambassador to introduce me to a person 
in the French Foreign Office. He would have re- 
plied that I was known there and hence no need 
for new introductions. Quite right, and yet I 
wanted my new victim to see that I was some- 
body, so that he should not be afraid of discuss- 
ing vital matters with me. I, therefore, devised 
the following method. I went up to the Embassy 
and asked them to give me a letter to the Foreign 
Office and so support my request for a set of 
statistical books of the French Government. 
They declined; if I wanted books, I should buy 
them. Surely Mr. Eowntree, who spends so 
much money on his investigation, will not mind 



184 Revelations of an International Spy 

spending a mere $100 for books. I retorted that 
that was quite right. But if we should buy all 
the official statistical books we needed we would 
easily spend some few thousand dollars. The 
Belgian Government had readily placed at our 
disposal all their official publications — realizing 
that the work I was doing will greatly benefit 
them. 

They replied all right; that I should go and 
ask the Minister concerned and I would, no doubt, 
get the books. I said that I was told by some 
subordinate officials in two or three ministries 
that they could not give official books free to a 
private person. Consequently I repeated my re- 
quest that the Embassy should ask for them for 
me. I persisted, so at last they said they would 
place the matter before Sir Francis Bertie. He 
declined to do it. I returned to London and wrote 
a letter in Mr. Ko^vntree 's name, to Lord Edmund 
Fitzmaurice (brother of Lord Lansdowne), pro- 
testing against the discourtesy. I put the matter 
before him and said that I would call at the 
House of Parliament for his reply. Sir William 
Tyrrel, Sir Edward Grey's private secretary, 
saw me and told me they would write to Sir Fran- 
cis Bertie on the matter. On my next visit to 
Paris I called at the Embassy — but I was told 
that Sir Francis Bertie could not see his way 
clear to grant my request. I, however, made up 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 185 

my mind that I must press the matter for the 
sake of getting a new oflScial letter from the Em- 
bassy to the French Foreign Office. I returned 
to London and worked Mr. Kowntree up into in- 
dignation. This was the assistance he was to ex- 
pect from the Government for all the valuable 
work he had done. We must teach Sir Francis 
Bertie a lesson, I said. For the sake of future 
contingencies he must be forced to actively as- 
sist me. 

Mr. Eowntree agreed and told me he would 
leave it in my hands to do what I thought neces- 
sary. I went to the House of Commons and saw 
Mr. Percy Alden, M.P. Mr. Alden was well 
Imown to me and I to him. He entered Parlia- 
ment in 1906 as an Ultra-Eadical. He was under 
various obligations to Mr. Kowntree; for one 
thing, Mr. Kowntree partly financed him in his 
election of 1906. Further, Mr. Alden was deeply 
interested in social reforms and economic ques- 
tions. He was also persona grata with the Prime 
Minister, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. So I 
told him in indignant tones my complaint and 
asked him to see the Prime Minister himself. 
Sir Francis Bertie, I said, must be told that the 
Governments are deeply interested in Mr. Kown- 
tree 's work — which indeed they were — and con- 
sequently he must do as I requested him. Mr. 
Alden immediately saw the Prime Minister and 



186 Revelations of an International Spy 

came back with the message that Mr. Ponsonby 
has been instructed to see the Foreign Office and 
to see that instructions should immediately be 
sent to Sir Francis Bertie as I desired. It was 
done. I arrived in Paris, called at the Embassy 
— how I was received, I shall never forget. I 
sent in my card; out came Mr. Grahame, the 
third secretary. I could see they would have pre- 
ferred to send me where the pepper grows, 
but, nilly willy, they, at last, had to do my be- 
hest. 

*^Sir Francis will see you shortly," said Mr. 
Grahame. 

They kept me waiting in that waiting-room for 
one solid hour — during which I sent word in three 
times. At last my patience ran out. I sent in 
a brisk note to Mr. Grahame, complaining of the 
lack of politeness by keeping me so long. Out 
came the Hon. Eeginald Lister and said, **His 
Excellency will see you shortly. ' ' He treated me 
with a cold aloofness and an air of superiority — 
positively amusing and comical; the single eye- 
glass and the twang were not missing either. 
These embassy chaps fancy themselves little tin 
gods on wheels. 

But behold! a gorgeously dressed flunkey came 
in and conducted me to His Excellency. I went 
through beautiful corridors, up marvelous stair- 
ways, artistic rooms (Napoleon I. built this pal- 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 187 

ace for one of his sisters), and at every corner 
there was a flunkey, who watched me until I got 
into the optical sphere of the next. At last I was 
in the presence of the arch war-maker — Sir Fran- 
cis Bertie, of whom the late W. T. Stead said, **If 
we want to get rid of the tension in Europe recall 
Sir Francis Bertie/' 

It was a rather small room. Sir Francis was 
seated, the Hon. Reginald Lister stood beside his 
chief. 

**Well, Mr. Lincoln, I do not see how I can 
possibly ask the French Government to grant you 
books. It is ridiculous.'' 

**But I am sure the French Government will 
be glad to give them." 

**Very well, why not go and ask them?" 

**They will not give them to me, but they will 
if Your Excellency asks for them." 

**That is impossible. The only thing I could 
do for you is to write a private letter to Monsieur 
Louis of the Foreign Office, which you can take 
to him and see what he can do." 

I was quite satisfied with this proposition. 

**you have given us rather much trouble over 
this matter." 

**Your Excellency, the fault is not mine. It 
could have been settled weeks ago as well as to- 
day." 

I bowed and the ^'audience" was over. Was 



188 Revelations of an International Spy 

it worth the candle? some reader may ask. It 
may indeed seem a comphcated stage play to pro- 
duce such apparently insignificant results. But 
these insignificant looking moves are, after all, 
the patient spiderlike web of diplomatic espion- 
age. Having got the letter in a few minutes, I 
drove to the Quai d'Orsay. Monsieur Louis (Di- 
rector of the Political Department) was not in 
his office. I was shown to his apartment (he 
lived in the Foreign Office). I was very cor- 
dially received. I produced my letter. Of 
course, he at once promised me all I wanted and 
advised me to send him a Hst of all the official 
books I wanted grouped according to the vari- 
ous ministries. He telephoned somewhere and 
asked some one to come and see him. A young 
secretary came, who was told to conduct me to 

M. B , the successor to L. , and to explain 

to him the whole matter. Meanwhile he said, 

turning to me : **I will speak with Monsieur B 

on the telephone.'' 

Monsieur B received me as befits a man 

coming to him from his chief and from Sir Fran- 
cis Bertie. I spent with him about an hour, being 
desirous to impress him with my importance — 
which I completely succeeded in doing. I told 
him of the investigation I was doing in Belgium 
and France of the active interest and support of 
the British Government — of which he had tangible 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 189 

proof just then and there. It was agreed that 
I should send him a complete list of all the books 
and he will have them collected from the minis- 
tries concerned. 

** Where shall I send them?" he queried. I 
was just on the point of giving him Mr. Rown- 
tree^s address in England when a splendid idea 
crossed my mind. 

^^Send them to the British Embassy for me — 
they will forward them to us in England. ' ' 

I returned to the Embassy and told Mr. Gra- 
hame. He was quite beside himself. 

*^We cannot turn the Embassy into a packing 
office or express company for you.'' I said it was 
too late now to alter the dispositions. And so 
it remained. Hundreds of books were sent to 
the Embassy. They were there packed and ex- 
pressed to England. But my relations with the 
British Embassy became very strained — I have 
not been there since. What is and was, however, 
of greater importance, I established connections 
with M. B with all the distinction and cere- 
mony I desired. Indeed before I left him — I 
had invited him to dinner. I kept up my con- 
nection with him until 1911 — and derived much 
benefit for which I herewith return thanks. As 
to the books I do not think we used them alto- 
gether ten minutes. Isn't that correct, Mr. 
Eowntree? 



190 Revelations of an International Spy 

THE YEAR 1908 

The tension between England and Germany 
has reached almost the breaking point with the 
inevitable corollary of war clouds, scares, and 
increased armaments. 

Before disclosing and revealing Edward's 
schemes in their more advanced stage I should 
like to make one or two observations. 

As long as there existed in Europe only the 
Triple-Alliance {Germany, Austria, Italy) and 
the Dual Alliance (Russia and France) there 
were no war scares and dangerous tensions. In 
other words, as long as the Dual Alliance was op- 
posed by the stronger Triple Alliance there was 
peace in Europe. 

Indeed, as I pointed out, Germany and France 
got on well, sometimes very well together — equally 
Kussia and Germany, and Eussia and Austria. 
The two latter could even bring their naturally 
antagonistic policies on the Balkans into line 
(Agreement of 1897 and the Miirzsteg Program 
of 1903 testify to this). 

But as soon as Edivard the VII inaugurated 
his entente cordiales, peace departed from Eu- 
rope, This is an incontrovertible fact and no 
amount of sophistry about ^^ German militarism'* 
can do away with this all-important fact. When 
further, the Entente Cordiale was extended into 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 191 

a Triple Entente, and when these three Powers 
thought (for they were convinced of this) that 
the Triple Entente was stronger than the Triple 
Alliance, Europe and the world lived under a 
peace which in reality was a war only in degree 
different from actual warfare on the battlefields. 
From the time Sir Edward Grey and his satellites 
carried out their policy of isolating Germany, 
there was perpetual and acute tension between 
England and Germany; Eussia and Germany; 
Eussia and Austria ; Austria and Servia. 

Is this not an absolute fact? 

I disclosed the undercurrents of British schem- 
ing and diplomacy during 1907 ; it is now my duty 
to reveal their development and poisonous re- 
sults in 1908. 

Austria-Hungary saw and knew what was 
going on — she saw and knew that an impending 
shock was being prepared in the Balkans. Aeren- 
thal, the able and far-seeing Minister of Austria- 
Hungary, was neither willing to be bribed nor 
cajoled away from the side of Germany, or afraid 
to face the issues. On the 27th of January, 1908, 
he announced to the Austro-Hungarian delega- 
tions (joint session of Austro-Hungarian depu- 
ties) that he hoped soon to obtain the Sultan's 
consent to a proposal to extend the Austro-Hun- 
garian railways to Mitrovitza. Although this 
was perfectly admissible under article 25 of the 



192 Revelations of an International Spy 

Berlin Treaty, Russia, supported by England and 
France, made a great noise and declared that it 
was contrary to the Austro-Russian Balkan un- 
derstanding of 1897 and 1903. That may be, but 
those and all other understandings and upon 
which the peace of Europe solidly rested were 
being torn to pieces secretly by England, Russia, 
and France. As soon as this conspiracy was re- 
vealed and because those who found them out 
took steps which they considered necessary for 
the safeguarding of their interests, the Triple 
Entente was angry and disappointed. 

As then, so now. The Triple Entente thought 
they were ready for the war in August, 1914,^ 
having prepared for it during seven years. But 
when actual warfare demonstrated their ineffi- 
ciency — they blame Germany for doing efficiently 
what they also meant to do efficiently but could 
not. The reply of Russia to AerenthaPs declara- 
tion was a proposal to submit the issues to Eu- 
rope. Please pause here for a moment. When 
England and France made a treaty in 1904 about 
Morocco and Egypt — they handed over Morocco, 
an independent country, to France without refer- 
ence to anybody, and when Germany objected and 
demanded that the question be referred to the 
Signatory Powers of the Madrid Treaty of 1880 

iVide speeches of Grey, Asquith, and Churchill in England, 
Suchomlinoff and Sazonoff in Russia and Poincar6 and Viviani in 
France at the outbreak of the war. 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 193 

relating to Morocco, Germany is charged with be- 
ing the marplot of the world. 

When England and Russia sign away in 1907 
the independence of Persia, nothing is said. Not 
only is Europe not invited to express an opinion, 
but the country most directly concerned, Persia, 
is not consulted at all. England gives to Russia 
the north of Persia, Russia gives to England the 
south of Persia, and both create a neutral middle 
Persia, for one does not and cannot trust the 
other, and the agreement is binding. But when 
Austria-Hungary obtains from the Sultan of Tur- 
key — an independent sovereign of an independent 
country — a railway concession, the proposal is 
blocked by the Triple Entente by the subtle plea 
to submit it to a conference of the Powers. Of 
course, as we have seen, Russia had political de- 
sign on the Balkans and the Bear was anxious 
that the Balkans might not be strengthened com- 
mercially and politically and so become a prey 
to his insatiable greed! 

What a mean, despicable role France played in 
all these intrigues ! France of lofty ideals, demo- 
cratic precepts, the home of the *^ rights of man," 
says yes and amen to whatever pleases Russia. 
Such is blind hatred and wilful ignorance! But 
Downing Street was jubilant. Edward saw his 
opportunity to drive a wedge between Russia and 
Austria. Why? To strain the relations between 



194 Revelations of an International Spy 

Germany and Kussia and so intimidate Austria- 
Hungary. Watch now the game. Grey ad- 
dresses on the 3rd of March a memorial to the 
Powers, proposing very radical reforms for 
Macedonia. Wonderful! This tender considera- 
tion for the Macedonian peasants! And timely, 
very timely. These proposals were like a torch 
to a powder magazine. They were meant to re- 
open the whole Balkan question, bring into relief 
the antagonism between Eussia and Austria on 
the one hand and Turkey and Europe on the 
other, besides stirring up the ever-latent jeal- 
ousies of the petty Balkan States. This is how 
diplomats of Sir Edward Grey's stamp work for 
the peace of Europe. Of course. Grey knew 
what he did and what his steps might lead to, 
vide: on the 18th and 20th of March new navy 
orders were issued by the Admiralty, whilst plans 
were hastily prepared and steps taken (accord- 
ing to arrangements previously mentioned) to 
land 166,000 troops on the Continent. 

On the 31st of March, Haldane's army reform 
comes into effect, providing the above expedi- 
tionary force and 315,000 territorials for home 
defense. I was in Brussels at this time. I re- 
member visiting Monsieur Brezey in his office at 
the Ministry, discussing this artificially created 
Macedonian trouble. It was toward the 17th of 
March. M. Brezey said to me: 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 195 

**I am willing to bet you, Mr. Lincoln, that we 
shall soon have new Macedonian proposals from 
Kussia. Say a good bottle of Burgundy.'' 

*^Aha!'' I jokingly remarked. **You have got 
advance information and want to tease me into 
a bottle." 

**No, I have not got any advance information 
on this point, but I see the game, don't you?" 

**You know, Mr. Brezey, that I am always will- 
ing to learn; what is your horoscope?" 

**Why, it is perfectly clear! England wants to 
push Russia ahead in the Balkans in order to 
push Austria back." 

I subsequently learned from Brezey that this 
was substantially correct. The Belgian Minister 
in London reported it to Brussels and wrote that 
Grey said: 

** Russia cannot be less concerned for the wel- 
fare of Macedonia and the Balkans than we are. ' ' 
The prediction of Brezey was fulfilled within a 
few days. On the 26th of March, Russia ad- 
dressed to all the Powers concerned proposals 
for Macedonian reforms more advanced than any 
hitherto emanating from joint Austro-Russian ac- 
tion. The Austro-Russian-Balkan understand- 
ing, so carefully preserved by Count Goluchovsky 
when Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary, was 
broken and publicly advertised to the whole 
world. 



196 Revelations of an International Spy 

Great Britain, France, and Italy with undue 
haste adhered to the Russian proposals without 
comment or restrictions. This should not come 
as a surprise to those readers who have atten- 
tively and with an impartial mind followed my 
narrative hitherto. Indeed, these three Powers 
knew of the proposals before they officially re- 
ceived them. Germany and Austria knew what 
these English and Russian proposals meant. 
They also knew what was intended by them and 
above all they knew of all the remarks Edward 
VII made about the whole affair. They decided 
to be on the alert, to watch and wait. They de- 
clared their consent to these proposals with cer- 
tain reservations. This happened in April. Ed- 
ward VII was bent on mischief. He advocated 
and carried a policy — submitted it to his inner 
council — to drive matters to a head. ** Austria- 
Hungary cannot and will not fight — ^we shall gain 
a great diplomatic victory." It was decided to 
make a public demonstration of solidarity be- 
tween the Entente Powers. Edward thought he 
would bluff Germany and Austria-Hungary into 
submission. He was so convinced of the superior 
strength of his Triple Entente — that he spoke of 
and treated Germany with scorn. ^'Quelle sur- 
prise pour Guillaumer^ he commented on his 
forthcoming meeting with the President of the 
French Republic and the Tzar of all the Russias. 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 197 

*^ Quelle surprise!^' Did lie really think that 
Germany was taken by surprise by his petty 
machinations? I was completely informed of the 
pourparlers in London and Paris and learned that 
both Governments desired to make a demon- 
stration. The meeting took place in June; the 
toasts exchanged spoke of * ^ strengthening the en- 
tente and rendering it more permanent." This 
was a clear intimation to Germany that the En- 
tente gave way to an Alliance. Let my proposed 
commission look through the files at the Foreign 
Office containing resumes and memoranda of im- 
portant conversations between Edward and Grey, 
Grey and the French Ambassador, the secret 
despatches that were sent out to the oft-mentioned 
embassies, and they will find that whilst the ma- 
jority of the English people and certainly the 
majority of the House of Commons were desirous 
of establishing friendship between England and 
Germany, Edward VII and Grey — unknown to 
them and unknown to the majority of the Cabinet 
— drove further and further their deliberate anti- 
German policy. 

After seeing the President of the French Ke- 
public, Edward VII hurried to Reval — by sea to 
avoid traversing German territory — to meet the 
autocrat of all the Russias. Why did Edward go 
to Reval? And why did he take General Sir 
John French with him? What was discussed 



198 Revelations of an International Spy 

there, what was decided? He went to Reval to 
forge another link in his chain of anti-German 
policy. In the coming and contemplated war 
with Germany in which all Europe will be in- 
volved, it was necessary for England to prevent 
the Turks, the friends of Germany, from at- 
tacking Suez and Egypt. This is the vital spot 
of the British Empire. The Turk must first be 
beaten, reduced to impotence. England sug- 
gested in St. Petersburg a strong Russian-Balkan 
policy — indeed she gave Russia carte blanche on 
the Balkans — except Constantinople. **Not yet,'' 
was the evasive reply. Russia could take Ar- 
menia, do with and through the Balkans Slavs 
what she wanted — ^was one decision reached. 
Indeed, a possible Balkan Alliance was here 
mooted the first time, to be directed against Tur- 
key and Austria. Its originator was England. 

Another question discussed at Reval was this: 
How to prevent the Germans invading France in 
the coming conflict? This was General French's 
business there. France was pressing this ques- 
tion and the only way to prevent this was an in- 
vasion of Belgium and Holland, or one of the two, 
by England. 

After hostilities break out, either a pretext 
will be found to force the Scheldt and land an 
army there (should Leopold II still be King of 
Belgium) or Belgium will ask the protection of 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 199 

England and the latter will then land 160,000 
men there, to outflank the Germans (should 
Prince Albert have succeeded on the throne). 
The vexed and much debated question of violat- 
ing Belgium's neutrality by the Germans hinges 
upon this my statement. Germany knowing this 
nice little scheme, prevented its execution by fore- 
stalling it. This is what Bethmann-Hollweg 
meant when he said ^'necessity knows no law.'' 
The English and French were furious, not be- 
cause Germany invaded Belgium but because in 
doing so she prevented them from doing it. 

Again I hear some readers say: This cannot 
be true, because Sir Edward Grey asked Ger- 
many's pledge not to violate Belgium's neutrality. 
Quite true, but when Germany asked him on the 
1st of August (page QQ of British White Paper) 
whether he would engage to remain neutral if 
Germany agreed not to violate Belgium's neutral- 
ity, was his reply **Yes"l Oh no! He said '^he 
could not say that." 

Prince Lichnovsky then ^^ suggested that the 
integrity of France and her colonies might be 
guaranteed," in addition to Belgium's neutral- 
ity. What did Grey say? *^I said that I felt 
obliged to refuse definitely any promise to re- 
main neutral on similar terms and I could only 
say that we must keep our hands free." (De- 
spatch to Sir Edward Goschen, British Ambassa- 



200 Revelations of an International Spy 

dor to Berlin, signed by Grey, mailed on the 1st 
of August, 1914.) This should effectively dis- 
pose of two of England's contentions: 1. That 
Grey only went to war because Germany violated 
Belgian neutrality. 2. That Grey did not want 
war. In fact, it should be clear to all impartial 
readers, that Grey was forced by previous agree- 
ments to support Eussia in her ridiculous Balkan 
pretensions in shielding the Servian murderers 
of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand. 

But granted that it is beyond contention, can 
it be possible that Grey would have invaded Bel- 
gium after he warned off Germany? Yes, that 
is precisely what he wanted to do and what he de- 
cided upon years before 1914. Diplomacy is a 
game, you must never take the statements of dip- 
lomats at their face value. Did not England 
seize several Greek Islands during this war on 
the plea that military necessity compelled her to 
do so? Indeed, when I criticized the Germans — 
as will be related in a later chapter — ^for having 
played into Grey's hands by the invasion of Bel- 
gium, assuring them that the people of Great 
Britain would have swept Grey out of office had 
he dared to side with Eussia and France, not 
knowing of any of his secret agreements, they re- 
plied: **Once war breaks out a clever minister 
like Grey, who fooled his country eight years, 
would have easily fooled them, once passions 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 201 

ruled. We knew that he meant to invade Bel- 
gium and we had to act accordingly.'* 

Another matter discussed at Reval referred to 
consolidating the Balkan States. Here it was the 
first time that the Balkan League was mooted. 
They counted without their host. On the 23rd of 
July the Young Turks revolted. The Young 
Turkish Revolution would in any case have come 
within a year. But the reports of the Reval 
meeting reached the Committee of Union and 
Progress and fearing for their country's future, 
the revolt broke out as soon as the most necessary 
preparation had been made. Germany and Aus- 
tria-Hungary immediately after Reval partially 
mobilized their forces — they made up their minds 
that they would for once not tolerate Edward's 
insults and plots. They knew very well that 
neither Russia nor France nor England was then 
ready and they consequently decided to call their 
bluff. This was very cleverly done. In order to 
prevent the Balkans acting in unison in any di- 
rection, secret negotiations were started with 
Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria with a view of con- 
certed action. For everything was in the melting 
pot now. But more of this aspect anon. Con- 
currently with the negotiations, extensive military 
preparations were carried out on the Servian and 
Galician frontiers by Austria and by Germany on 
the east and west. 



202 Revelations of an International Spy 

Isvolsky met Aerenthal over the Balkan ques- 
tion — he wanted to gain time. Hardly did he 
leave Aerenthal, and when all the preparations 
were ready, Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia- 
Herzegovina, and Bulgaria declared her inde- 
pendence of Turkey. This was indeed a master- 
stroke of statesmanship. Russia could not pos- 
sibly object to Bulgaria (her own creation) going 
one step further on the road she started her in 
1878. And this was just the reason for the 
stormy opposition of Russia and England. Rus- 
sia had created Bulgaria, it is true, but she 
wanted Bulgaria to be and remain her vassal, as 
it were. An independent, strong Bulgaria, made 
so with the help of Austria — that was a bitter pill 
to swallow. Russia did not care for Bosnia- 
Herzegovina ; she readily agreed in previous dis- 
cussions on the subject with Austria that the lat- 
ter should have them. But the cooperation of 
Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria shattered for the 
time being the Triple Entente's scheme for a 
Balkan League. While — as to Macedonia — the 
Young Turks looked after that. I am constrained 
to admit that had the Young Turks not committed 
a whole series of blunders and if they had listened 
to the excellent advice which Count Aerenthal and 
Berlin tendered to them, the Balkan League would 
never have become an accomplished fact. The 
Triple Entente bluff indeed had been called. The 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 203 

next few months of acute tension and war hanging 
over Europe are well known and remembered by 
all. 

As remarked above, the Young Turkish Revo- 
lution brought everything in the melting pot. All 
the Powers lost their bearings for the time being. 
Grey was spouting fire and brimstone at Austria- 
Hungary for the annexation of Bosnia-Herze- 
govina and made some rash promises and vowed 
some childish vows ! Needless to say, he did not 
keep them. Two years afterwards I was a mem- 
ber of House of Commons and I could not forego 
the pleasure of pointing out to Sir Edward Grey, 
by way of ironical questions often repeated in 
various forms, that he did not keep his word. 
Several questions of this nature finally upset 
his equilibrium and he put up the Under-Secre- 
tary of Foreign Affairs (Mr. McKinnon Wood) 
to reply to me, w^hich he did in a brutal fash- 
ion. 

The year 1909 seemed to start well with a prom- 
ise of a saner and more peaceful policy all round. 
Turkey and Austria composed their differences 
over the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina by 
the Protocol of the 26th of February. In the 
same month France and Germany reached an 
agreement over their Morocco difficulty. King Ed- 
ward and Queen Alexandra paid their long-de- 
ferred state visit to Berlin. Eussia, faced and 



204 Revelations of an International Spy 

threatened with Germany's '* hands off,'* acknowl- 
edged the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina 
(March 15th). To the uninitiated observer, it 
seemed that a new era of international amity and 
peace had set in. In truth, the above events — 
and many others — were dictated by the fact al- 
ready mentioned, that all the Powers had lost 
their bearings. To make myself clear, the young 
Turkish Eevolution caused Germany to pause and 
think. In the German scheme of defense the 
friendship of Turkey played a very important 
role. Nobody at that time could foresee with ex- 
actitude how far the regeneration of Turkey 
would go and principally how it would affect the 
Christian States of the Balkans. Great Britain 
was anxious about Egypt, and the possible ef- 
fect a revival of Pan-Islamism with a regenerated 
Khalifate might have on the 60,000,000 Moham- 
medans in India. Her dear friend Kussia was 
also causing her much concern — in the Near East, 
whither she brought her back from the Far East 
— and in Persia. 

Public opinion in England and a very strong 
section of the House of Commons viewed with 
concern, alarm, and disgust what Eussia was 
doing in Persia. Sir Edward Grey had to do 
something. The excesses of Liakhoff and his un- 
bridled Cossacks could not be overlooked. Sir 
Arthur Nicholson gently demanded his recall. 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 205 

which was refused. France and Italy during 
1909 were anything but friendly. Each one of the 
Great Powers lost its bearings. They were seek- 
ing to find a new direction for their policy. 
Underground and beneath the surface the old in- 
trigues went on just the same. Even in 1909 it 
would not have been too late to sweep away all 
the difficulties, artificial and natural, that existed 
between England and Germany. And here I 
must say that Edward VII — realizing the dan- 
gers which his policy had created and the immi- 
nence of war over the annexation crisis — ^was sin- 
cerely anxious this time to bring about an entente 
with Germany — the Kaiser being more than will- 
ing. It is to the guilt of Sir Edward Grey, above 
everybody else, that this was not brought about. 
How does this tally with oft-repeated previous 
statement that it was Edward VII who was the 
most active propagator of the anti-German pol- 
icy? 

He was, but having seen that his policy brought 
Europe four times to the verge of war, he thought 
that the opening of the Eastern question might 
be a favorable opportunity to compose the dif- 
ferences with Germany. But Grey was too 
deeply and too far committed, and it is he who 
now made this impossible. He felt the responsi- 
bility for this, last year, when he saw England 
on the verge of the bottomless abyss of a Euro- 



206 Revelations of an International Spy 

pean war, for he thus wires to Sir Edward Gos- 
chen in Berlin on the 30th of July, 1914 : 

**My own endeavor will be to promote some 
arrangement to which Germany could be a party, 
by which she could be assured that no aggressive 
or hostile policy would be pursued against her or 
her allies by France, Eussia, or ourselves, jointly 
or separately. The idea has hitherto been too 
Utopian to form the subject of definite propos- 
als/' 

There are several admissions in this statement. 

1. That hitherto a hostile and aggressive pol- 
icy has been pursued against Germany and her 
allies. 

2. That Grey could have prevented it by inti- 
mating that he will bring about an arrangement to 
which Germany can be a party with France and 
Eussia, and 

3. That he did not want it hitherto, by calling 
it, 'Hop Utopian hitherto.'' 

Grey it was who, in 1909, prevented this, then, 
**too Utopian'' arrangement being carried out. 

After a few weeks of lull, of hypocritical plati- 
tudes, the old feuds broke out anew. France was 
nervous about a possible entente, or, at any rate 
a detente, between Germany and England, while 
the latter was not less nervous about the comple- 
tion of the Franco-German Morocco Agreement. 
The conspirators in both countries set to work. 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 20T 

This time, in the spring of 1909, I left Mr. 
Eowntree, having finished my investigations for 
him, and devoted all my time, or nearly all my 
time to secret service work. I left for Belgium 
in the second week of April. Mr. Eowntree, 
keenly and sincerely interested in my welfare, 
inquired what I was doing now. For when I left 
him we parted as good friends and he quite un- 
derstood and appreciated that aspiring to parlia- 
mentary honors I could not remain a salaried 
man — but must try and make money by entering 
business. So he inquired what I was doing in 
Belgium. Naturally, I could not tell him. I gave 
him evasive replies. After several vain efforts 
he never asked me again. Does he remember it! 
Now, of course, he will know what I was doing 
and why I could not tell him. 

I was sent to Belgium on a twofold mission: 
To find out exactly what military measures were 
being discussed and decided upon, under the in- 
fluence of the annexation crisis ; and to obtain an 
exact description of all the iron and steel factories 
in and around Liege, Seraing, Ougree, La Louvi- 
ere, Hain-St.-Paul, Hain-St.-Pierre, Charleroi, 
etc., etc. The number of workmen they do and 
can employ, capacity of the various mills, forges, 
lathes, smithies, etc., raw material on hand, and 
many other questions. Now an ordinary spy 
would have made his residence stealthily in Brus- 



208 Revelations of an International Spy 

sels and tried to get into touch with some officer at 
the War Office, and so find answers to his first 
question. Very probably he would have been 
caught and locked up for a few years. As to ob- 
taining information to the second question — that 
would have been even more difficult than the first. 
Big corporations guard their secrets very well and 
very seldom, if at all, are strangers admitted 
and enabled to put their noses in all their af- 
fairs. 

Not so with me! I could and did go ahead 
openly and boldly. Was I not well known every- 
where ? Did not everybody know that I was con- 
ducting a scientific and economic investigation! 
And although it was finished, was it not possible 
that in looking through our material in London 
we found that on certain points we needed com- 
plementary information! With such thoughts in 
my mind I went up on the 14th of April, 1909, to 
my friend M. Dubois, Directeur General at the 
Ministry for Industry and Labour — in other 
words the highest permanent official next to the 
Minister. I requested him to give me an official 
letter of introduction which would enable me to 
visit any and every factory in Belgium. I was 
desirous of making a supplementary investigation 
about wages, I said. He readily furnished me 
with the letter. This I knew would fully enable 
me to satisfy Question 2. 



p 



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I— M-l 



•5^ 



I 




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o ^ 

a; o 

.i:cn 
Q . 

q4: 



^ 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 209 

As to the first question, I went to the War Of- 
fice? Not at all. That would have been the ob- 
vious but not the best method. Belgium is a 
country governed on the principle of very far 
reaching provincial and local self-government. 
Furthermore, there was a modified conscription 
existing in Belgium, and national defense was 
pivoted really on a national guard and national 
militia. Now, bearing these two main considera- 
tions in mind, I said to myself if any military 
measures or reforms were decided upon or were 
being carried out the provincial governors, cer- 
tain communal authorities, would know exactly 
what was going on. I decided to visit them, and 
if after having canvassed them I found that on 
one or two points my information was not com- 
plete, it would be necessary to obtain the ** miss- 
ing links'' in Brussels. So having obtained the 
letter from M. Dubois, I went straightway to the 
Prime Minister of Belgium. There was shortly 
before a ministerial crisis, in consequence of 
which M. Schollaert was not only the Prime Min- 
ister, but also the Minister of the Interior and 
Minister of Agriculture, until he could fill this lat- 
ter portfolio. I really went to him in his ca- 
pacity as Minister of the Interior. I received 
from him next day the letter. Armed with these 
two letters I traveled all over Belgium, visiting 
every iron and allied mills and, of course, calling 



210 Revelations of an International Spy 

on provincial governors and certain communal or 
regional officials. 

I was readily admitted to every mill save two : 
CockerilPs in Seraing and the big Ougree works 
(both near Liege). CockerilPs is the Krupp of 
Belgium. I was shown into the spacious and 
beautifully furnished private room of its manag- 
ing director — if I remember rightly, Mr. Schnei- 
der, or something similar. No, he could not, much 
to his regret, let me go through the works. If I 
wanted to know anything, I could give him or send 
him a list of questions and they would be very 
pleased to furnish me with replies compatible with 
their rules on such matters. Of course, that 
would not do for me. After much arguing and 
persuasion he promised he would consider it and 
let me know in a day or two. I had with me an ex- 
pert in order to get the most out of my visit. So 
naturally, I requested that my ^* secretary'^ might 
accompany me. I wired to Minister Dubois what 
had happened, requesting him to write direct to 
CockerilPs requesting that the desired facilities 
be extended to me. 

CockerilPs is in Seraing, a suburb, so to speak, 
of Liege. I stayed in Liege visiting some other 
works whilst waiting for the reply of CockerilPs. 
On the second day the permission to visit Cock- 
erilPs arrived and I and my ** secretary'' had a 
very useful day. Mr. Schneider showed me the 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 211 

great courtesy of appointing as my guide an Eng- 
lish speaking official. I think it was the librarian 
— an Englishman. I had another similar experi- 
ence. Next to Seraing in the village of Ougree is 
the Societe Anonyme d 'Ougree, employing about 
6000 men. They would not let me in ; no, not even 
with Mr. Dubois's recommendation. They only 
let people in for whom some one they know 
vouches. 

**Do you know Professor MahaimT' I asked. 

''Mais, certainement, Monsieur!^' replied the 
director. 

Professor Mahaim was professor at the Uni- 
versity of Liege, one of the most prominent and 
respected citizens of Liege. I knew him very well. 
So did he me. It was promised that if Professor 
Mahaim will vouch for me and accompany me, 
then I can visit their works. 

This was easily arranged. On the appointed 
morning Professor Mahaim, myself and my ^'sec- 
retary" met in the waiting-room of Ougree. I 
should have pointed out that at the time of mak- 
ing the arrangement my ** secretary" happened 
to be busy somewhere else — and I quite over- 
looked to ask for a permit for him as well. Pro- 
fessor Mahaim was associated with me in my in- 
vestigations for Mr. Eowntree, having furnished 
the reports on housing conditions in Belgium — so 
I could not introduce my '* secretary" as such — 



212 Revelations of an International Spy 

Professor Mahaim having known personally my 
real secretary. He now passed as my cousin, 
who just happened to arrive from London. Since 
I was permitted to take notes during my visit, I 
suggested to Mahaim that I introduce my cousin 
to the director as my secretary. And as my * * sec- 
retary" he was admitted without delay. I ob- 
tained a most thorough and complete dossier and 
a handsome reward for it — which foolishly I de- 
posited at the baccarat tables of Ostend Casino. 

My visits to provincial governors and local 
government officials were equally successful. So 
successful, that I had but little to complete on my 
return to Brussels. I obtained uncontrovertible 
evidence that during the summer and fall of 1909 
the Triple Entente, or rather England and 
France, were almost actively interfering in the 
military matters of Belgium. They compelled 
Belgium to make preparations against the Ger- 
mans, whilst they themselves not only contem- 
plated but decided to invade Belgium — with or 
without Belgium's approval — after an initial suc- 
cess against the Germans. But I have previously 
dealt with this matter, and I leave it to the sug- 
gested Commission — to refute me — if they can. 

From Belgium I returned to England and put 
in several weeks of electioneering work in Dar- 
lington. I was just contemplating going away 
for a well-merited holiday, when a telegram 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 213 

reached me, requesting me to meet *^D^' at 
Ostend. The Triple Entente was decidedly busy 
in the Balkans and in Southern Hungary. It was 
my duty to find out what they were doing. From 
Ostend I returned to London. I had now to in- 
vent a reason for my secret inquiries in the 
Balkans. No longer in Mr. Kowntree's service, 
I could not say that I wanted to investigate social 
or economic conditions in Servia. I would have 
been derided. After some consideration I went 
up to the Foreign Office and obtained official let- 
ters of introduction to Budapest, Belgrade, Sofia, 
Bucharest, and Constantinople. Sir Edward 
Grey said in those letters addressed to British 
consuls or ministers in those respective capitals 
that I was going to ^ ' study commercial conditions 
with a view of the development of British trade.'' 

My first visit was to Budapest. The British 
Consul General at the time there was the Hon. 
Esme Howard. He is now, I think. Minister in 
Berne, Switzerland. Here it was — the first and 
only time during my secret activities — that I com- 
mitted an indiscretion — which resulted in a rather 
unpleasant interview at the Foreign Office in Lon- 
don after my return from the Balkans. This 
interview took place between Lord Dufferin, head 
of the commercial department at the Foreign Of- 
fice, and myself. 

My indiscretion consisted in mentioning rather 



214 Revelations of an International Spy 

often the name of a very distinguished and promi- 
nent personage of the immediate entourage of 
King Edward VII. Mr. Howard, either disbe- 
lieving the pretended purpose of my visit to 
Budapest or suspecting some connection behind 
that prominent name, cabled to the Foreign Of- 
fice in London. He will be surprised that I know 
this. Indeed, I knew it immediately. The 
Foreign Office approached the personage in ques- 
tion — who, I may say, has had all kinds of honors, 
orders, and other marks of favor showered upon 
him by King Edward VII — ^who, of course, dis- 
claimed any knowledge of me. Mr. Howard was 
advised accordingly — so was I. 

Two days later I called upon Mr. Howard by 
appointment, for he was to take me to His Excel- 
lency, M. Kossuth, then Minister of Commerce. 
Mr. Howard did not disclose by any w^ord or sign 
that he had cabled to London. Nor did I betray 
to him that I knew of it. He was my guest at 
luncheon at the LTotel Hungaria, where I was 
staying. We both played the game perfectly. 
After luncheon we drove across the Danube to 
the ministry which is in Buda. He intro- 
duced me to M. Kossuth as having come to 
study *^ means and ways to extend British trade 
in Hungary.'' After about ten minutes' conver- 
sation with the Minister, His Excellency M. Szte- 
renyi was ushered in and he took charge of me. 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 215 

We left the room together, leaving Mr. Howard 
and M. Kossuth behind. It was then that Mr. 
Howard warned M. Kossuth against me, as I 
knew the very same afternoon. 

M. Kossuth was a member of what was known 
in Hungary as the ** Coalition Government,'' who 
wanted to break up the Triple Alliance. One of 
their favorite pastimes was coquetting with 
France and England. When I got back to Lon- 
don after penetrating the Balkans, I wrote a 
*' diplomatic ' ' letter to the high personage in 
question, receiving a ^* diplomatic'' reply. By 
these letters exchanged I completely shielded the 
personage in question — drawing any possible 
trouble from him to myself. But nothing hap- 
pened except that unpleasant interview at the 
Foreign Office. 

Lord Dufferin and Mr. Howard may now intel- 
ligently guess who my mysterious patron ^*D" 
is, and the significance of my activities in his 
behalf. And another observation. In future the 
British Government will do well not to leave a 
young attache in entire charge of the Belgrade 
Legation. These young attaches are too inexpe- 
rienced and are by no means a match for the re- 
sourceful methods of an experienced Secret 
Service man. 

To my great pleasure I found the British Le- 
gation in Belgrade in the sole charge of a young 



216 Revelations of an International Spy 

attache from the Bucharest Legation. We got 
very friendly. Every afternoon he and I drove 
out in the Legation's carriage, drawn by two su- 
perb Hungarian horses. We were the sight of 
Belgrade — when we drove along the main street 
in furious tempo, the driver sitting behind in his 
picturesque uniform ! He introduced me to Colo- 
nel Ch , a very useful source of information; 

to Madame E , in the pay of the British Gov- 
ernment. Colonel Ch worked for me and in- 
troduced me to two ministers and one ex-minister. 
Madame E for money and generous compli- 
ments was willing to pump officers, statesmen, and 
other smaller fry. But above all, mty friend, the 
attache — he was invaluable; so much so that I 
could dispense entirely with my contemplated 
journey to Sofia, Bucharest, and Constantinople. 
Mr. Harting, the newly appointed Eussian Min- 
ister to Belgrade, arrived with a very bad repu- 
tation from Teheran. Ask Mr. Shuster, the 
ex-Treasurer-General of Persia. The plan of a 
Serbo-Bulgarian rapprochement had already been 
discussed between M. Isvolsky and M. Milovano- 
vitsch. Harting was sent to Belgrade with the 
definite mission of forging a Balkan alliance 
against Austria-Hungary. This was well known 
by Sir Edward Grey, and had his support, 
Harting — and this is not so well kno^vm — was the 
inspirer, the active head of the disintegrating 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 217 

propaganda carried on from Belgrade in Austria- 
Hungary. He was behind the Serbo-Croatian 
coalition of the Diet of Agram. Out of these 
machinations grew the murder of Archduke 
Francis Ferdinand. When the full history of the 
last few years will be written that dastardly crime 
will be brought home to Eussian diplomacy. And 
Sir Edward Grey must accept blame and respon- 
sibility for the odious methods and practises of 
Harting. His insane fear of Germany, his mad 
jealousy of Germany, delivered him up into the 
hands of the Pan-Slavists of Russia and the 
Chauvinists of France. Any price was not too 
big for him to pay for the coalition against Ger- 
many. 

The Triple Entente started reorganizing the 
Balkans pohtically and from a military point of 
view, and it was openly declared to me then that 
in three years ' time they would be ready to strike. 
And they did strike in 1912. Grey was caught in 
the meshes of his own intrigues. The Anglo-Rus- 
sian agreement of 1907, carried against the out- 
spoken opposition of English public opinion and 
against the true interests of England, did not 
work well. There was no little friction with Rus- 
sia in 1909, and she was beginning to turn her 
eyes toward Germany, with whose help she hoped 
to obtain the much-coveted outlet on the Gulf. 
Grey was alarmed. **An understanding between 



218 Revelations of an International Spy 

Germany and Russia or for that matter between 
Germany and any other power must be prevented 
by us at all hazards/^ said to me the young at- 
tache at Belgrade. 

In order to draw away Russia from Persia and 
to compensate her elsewhere, Grey thrust Russia 
into the Balkans. But the annexation crisis has 
closely brought home to Russia that while she is 
playing England's game, England cannot be of 
any help to her when their joint policy is brought 
to a test. Russia and the whole Triple Entente 
had to buckle down before Germany in 1909 over 
the Bosnian question. Russia began to realize 
that England was using her for her own aims. 
Mr. Harting, whom I saw several times in Bel- 
grade, once told me, ^^We are wanted by England 
to crush Germany.'' If only this true vision had 
reached other circles in Russia, the present war 
would never have happened. But Isvolsky in 
Paris, the Dowager Empress in St. Petersburg, 
Grey in London, and others took care that it did 
not. 

I returned from Belgrade to London, instead of 
proceeding to Sofia and Constantinople, so oblig- 
ing was the young attache. When I got to Lon- 
don I had an invitation to go to the Foreign Of- 
fice. They wanted to question me more closely 
about my indiscretion committed in Budapest and 
which when understood would have brought dis- 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 219 

grace upon a very prominent person of King 
Edward's personal circle. So we strenuously- 
disavowed each other. Let now Lord Dufferin 
and Sir Edward Grey ponder over that incident 
and see what they can m^ke out of it. 

I had to devote the remaining few months of 
1909 to electioneering. The elections were to 
take place in January, 1910. I was elected a 
member of the British Parliament for Darlington, 
by no means a commonplace achievement, in light 
of insular prejudice. I was the first Hungarian 
(and I am surely the last) that ever attained 
this honor. During my parliamentary career I 
paid very frequent visits to the continent of Eu- 
rope. In the autumn, whilst in Vienna, I was 
honored with an audience by the late Archduke 
Francis Ferdinand. It was agreed that I might 
publish his views on international political ques- 
tions concerning England, Germany, and Austria- 
Hungary, and the Balkans. To make my article 
authentic it was arranged that the whole inter- 
view be written out by me in the form of questions 
and answers with the assistance of an ex-minister, 
a confidant of the Archduke. I met His Excel- 
lency and his secretary next day in the Hotel Im- 
perial in Vienna, and read the draft of my article 
to him. 

At a special audience, I then submitted it to His 
Imperial Highness. Archduke Francis Ferdi- 



220 Revelations of an International Spy 

Hand was of a commanding presence. Once you 
saw him, with his big eyes, his serene countenance, 
his superabundant energy manifested by his 
every move, gesture, and mien, you could never 
forget him. He was a man of fearless courage, 
deep-set convictions, high and lofty notions of his 
duties and work. With clear vision he saw the 
weak spots in the structure of the Austro-Hun- 
garian monarchy and with relentless determina- 
tion he set himself to repair them and weld the 
country into a cohesive whole by timely and just 
concessions, resisting with unflinching will the 
disintegrating influences.^ He maintained that 
he was keenly desirous of preserving and improv- 
ing friendly relations with Great Britain. 

His visits to England must be viewed as efforts 
in this direction. He talked on Austria's Balkan 
policy; he denied any political ambitions there, 
but freely admitted that Austria-Hungary had 
commercial interests there. If Austria-Hungary 
had political ambitions, she would never have re- 
nounced her right — as she did — of garrisoning 
the Sanjak of Novibazar. There was a thinly 
veiled admission in the published interview of Sa- 
loniki being considered as important for Austro- 
Hungarian commercial expansion. I published 
the article in the Daily Chronicle of London (Sep- 
tember or October, 1910). It created a profound 

iThis work was ably continued by Count Tisza, Hungary's 
pregent Prime Minister. 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 221 

sensation all over Europe, but particularly in 
southeastern Europe. 

It now remains for me but briefly to summarize 
the more important diplomatic moves of the years 
1911-14, until the outbreak of the war. In the 
moves that were executed behind the scenes since 
1911, I had no direct part. I quitted Diplomatic 
Espionage in 1911, but, of course, I kept up my 
interest in international politics and rivalry. 

I had considerable business interests in Galicia 
and Kumania and traveled a great deal. Occa- 
sionally I w^ould stop at Brussels or Paris, or in 
some Balkan capital, look up old acquaintances, 
friends and ^* channels," discussing with them the 
diplomatic questions of the moment, so it was 
really not difficult for me to know what was being 
enacted behind the scenes. 

The outstanding event of international impor- 
tance in 1910 was the meeting of the Tzar and 
Kaiser at Potsdam. At the time, as is always 
the custom, the dignitaries and the minor officials 
of the two countries interested denied that any 
importance was attached to the meeting. The 
fact is — and I have it from the best possible 
source — that it was of the most far-reaching im- 
portance. Eussian statesmen came to realize 
that the Anglo-Russian Treaty was a very one- 
sided arrangement and particularly instead of 
helping Russia to an outlet on the Persian Gulf 



222 Revelations of an International Spy 

it effectively debarred her from reaching it. Rus- 
sian statesmen clearly saw that Russia was being 
used for the purposes of British policy and Brit- 
ish schemes without any compensating advan- 
tages. They could not reach the Gulf and even 
in the Balkans, whither they were pushed by the 
British scheming, they did not get the desired 
and justly expected support from England. Was 
not Russia deeply humiliated in 1908 and 1909 
over the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina? So 
Russia decided to turn to Germany. If but Rus- 
sian statesmen had persisted in their course, the 
present war would certainly have been avoided. 
The Potsdam meeting resulted in the famous but 
mysterious ^* Potsdam Agreement.'' The cardi- 
nal stone of the agreement is to be found in the 
following secret clause now given to the world 
for the first time: *^ Germany and Russia each 
undertakes to remain aloof from any combination 
of Powers that has any aggressive tendency 
against the other in finding an opening on the 
Persian Gulf.'' 

This one clause alone virtually meant the break- 
ing up of the Triple Entente. Germany was glad 
to enter into this agreement with Russia, for sev- 
eral reasons: Germany desired to live in peace 
with all her neighbors ; she believed a close politi- 
cal cooperation between Germany and Russia 
might, nay, would, bring about the Kaiser's long 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 228 

sought reconciliation between France and Ger- 
many; more than this, it would provide an effec- 
tive means to negative Great Britain's arrogant 
pretensions to world domination. 

I remarked in an earlier chapter that whenever 
two or more of the great Powers enter into an 
arrangement about a third weaker and smaller 
country, one of the first results will be disorders 
in that small country. So it was this time. 
There was a big upheaval in Persia, indeed, in 
1911, British control of the Gulf seemed seriously 
threatened, and British-Indian troops were sent 
to Southern Persia. Great Britain and France 
were decidedly nervous over the Potsdam Agree- 
ment, the former seeing in it an impossibility of 
isolating Germany, the latter a postponement of 
the **war of revenge'' for the *4ost" provinces. 
Both got busy to upset it and so prevent the un- 
derstanding between Eussia and Germany from 
developing. To this end various moves were 
undertaken. 

The reader will remember the Franco-German 
Agreement of 1909 about Morocco. Sir Edward 
Grey now seized this instrument, designed to 
bring two neighborly nations together, and actu- 
ally made it into an instrument of war. For let 
it be known that it was chiefly Grey and Sir 
Francis Bertie's intrigues in Paris which made 
the agreement a dead letter. The secret archives 



224 Revelations of an International Spy 

of the British Embassy will prove this. The in- 
tention of Grey was to drive matters to a head 
between France and Germany and thus bring 
about w^ar between the two, France assisted by 
Eussia. British troops were ready to be em- 
barked and landed in Belgium (1911). It was 
with the knowledge of this intended violation of 
Belgian neutrality by England that Holland in 
this year launched a project to fortify Flushing. 
The tremendous outcry against it in the British 
and French press will now be understood. Sir 
Edward Grey put up Lloyd George to make a 
threatening war speech against Germany (the 
Mansion House speech, London, 21st of July, 
1911). 

M. Caillaux, one of the most far-seeing of 
French statesmen, desired and worked for a 
Franco-German entente, but Great Britain foiled 
it and ousted Caillaux from office. Now, as then, 
it was England who caused war and enmity. In 
this very year of 1911, von Tirpitz agreed to fix 
the proportion of the British and German navies 
at 16 to 10. What clearer proof than this could 
Germany give of the absolute sincerity of her re- 
peated declaration that her navy was for defen- 
sive purposes only! This newer outbreak of the 
Morocco crisis — the work of England — did not 
result in war — to the great disappointment of Sir 
Edward Grey. That this last statement is no 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 225 

mere surmise may be gathered from a comparison 
of the language used in Downing Street, Quai 
d'Orsay, and Wilhelmstrasse. 

France and Germany were desirous to discuss 
the incident tete-a-tete in a conciliatory way; 
England thunders, threatens. Sir Edward Grey 
explicitly intimates Great Britain's '* desire to 
take part in the discussions of a matter which 
very directly concerns important British interests 
of various kinds/' And he gives Germany to 
understand that ** apart from the support of 
France from which there can be and will be no 
swerving, England has interests of her own and 
will not recognize any arrangement to which she 
was no party." 

Now, gentle reader, stop here for a moment. I 
need not point out the menacing tone of the lan- 
guage employed, and I am quoting the exact 
words; I should like to dwell on another aspect. 
First, the time chosen for this threatening atti- 
tude. It was the time when two neighborly na- 
tions — France and Germany — were willing to sit 
down around a table in a conciliatory mood to 
compose their differences. You can see that 
hand! Grey did not want France and Germany 
to become friends ; he had designated France and 
the manhood of France for other purposes ! But 
I want quite particularly to call attention to the 
closing sentence of Grey's threat: **He will not 



226 Revelations of an International Spy 

recognize any arrangement to which she was no 
party. '^ But when Germany said the same thing 
in 1905 about the Morocco agreement of the previ- 
ous year, the Anglo-French Treaty of April, 1904, 
she was called the marplot of Europe. Whom 
did England ask or notify when she divided Per- 
sia between Eussia and herself in the Anglo- 
Russian Treaty of August 31, 1907? England, it 
seems, arrogates to herself the right to dominate 
the whole world without let or hindrance. 

The threatening and domineering attitude of 
England during this Morocco crisis would have 
plunged Europe and the world into war — as 
Lloyd George threatened Germany — ^but for an 
unforeseen event. Italy long cast envious eyes 
across the Mediterranean. She was elbowed out 
of Tunis by France and hence she decided on 
Tripoli. She missed her time in 1908, and so 
desiring to profit from the international situation 
she decided to filch away Tripoli from Turkey. 
She declared war on Turkey on September 29th. 
This event — the Turkish question has always been 
the bugbear of European diplomatists — post- 
poned for the time being the great European war. 

France and Germany met, discussed their dif- 
ferences, and entered into the (second) Franco- 
German Agreement (November 4th, 1911). 
England and Russia had their attention directed 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 227 

towards the Near East, both considering them- 
selves (at that time) the rightful heirs of the 
Turkish Empire. Indeed, when in November, 
1911, Italy, in the course of war, made prepara- 
tions to attack the Dardanelles, or at least to 
blockade them, Kussia interfered and declared 
quite plainly that she would not permit it. 
France would have supported Russia, as French 
and Italian interests and policy in the Mediter- 
ranean are antagonistic, which was clearly re- 
vealed by several incidents during the Turco- 
Italian War and by the traditional backing of 
Greece by France. Of such ** harmonious ' ' ele- 
ments is the Quadruple Entente of the present 
war made ! 

I have repeatedly pointed out during my narra- 
tive the reasons and objects of the Anglo-Russian 
Treaty. I particularly emphasized England's 
aim to draw Russia away from the Far East and 
push her into the Balkans. It will be recollected 
that I pointed out — among other things — that 
England desired a free hand in Central Asia, 
hence Russia had to be occupied elsewhere — in 
the Balkans — for this would inevitably bring to 
clash Russo-Austrian interests. This consti- 
tuted one of the corner-stones of British intrigue, 
policy, and diplomacy. An energetic Russian ad- 
vance in Balkan politics would also prevent the 



228 Revelations of an International Spy 

consummation of the growing Kusso-German un- 
derstanding. Two moves, or rather three moves, 
in 1911 testify to this. 

The first was Germany * ^ recognizing North 
Persia as a Russian sphere of influence and pro- 
viding German capital to assist in the building of 
a Russian railway from Teheran to Khanikin, on 
the Turco-Persian frontier." 

England had to do something first, to counter- 
act this growing intimacy between Russia and 
Germany in the Gulf; second, indeed, to separate 
the two Powers. To achieve this, England 
started a very important move on the Balkans, 
i.e., to form a Balkan League. The popular idea 
is that it was Russia who initiated or conceived 
the Balkan League. Others say it was Venizelos, 
the Greek Prime Minister. Both are wrong. It 
was a Mr. Bourchier, the Balkan correspondent 
of the London Times, who conceived and initiated 
the formation of the Balkan League. It was in 
December of 1911 that Mr. Bourchier saw M. 
Milovanovitsch, Foreign Minister of Servia, and 
broached to him a comprehensive scheme of 
a Balkan League. I lay emphasis on the adjec- 
tive comprehensive. For it is not unknown to 
me that Mons. Milovanovitsch previous to this 
saw Mons. Gueschoff, the Bulgarian Prime Min- 
ister, at a secret interview when a possible Bul- 
gar-Servian agreement was discussed. I also 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 229 

know that Milovanovitsch touched upon the idea 
— for such it was then — when he saw Sazonoff 
during his visit to Petrograd. An all-embodying 
scheme of a Balkan League, however, was first 
propagated by the Times correspondent. Indeed, 
it was Mr. Bourchier who served as a go-between 
between Milovanovitsch and Gueschoff, Gues- 
choff and Venizelos. 

It was also Mr. Bourchier who sounded the 
Greek Patriarch at Constantinople, Joachim III, 
and the Bulgarian Exarch as to their attitude 
toward a Balkan League. AH this was done with 
the greatest possible secrecy — as they thought! 
Perhaps however Mr. Bourchier will remember 
now, as he thinks it over, one of the guides who ac- 
companied him and M. Venizelos. One of the 
muleteers, I mean, who accompanied them on that 
lovely May morning in 1912 when they took an 
early ride on mulebacks over the slopes of Pelion. 
Was it not on the summit that Venizelos gave his 
consent to the scheme? Does he remember what 
Venizelos told him? Does he know who the mule- 
teer in question was ? I daresay not but I rather 
fancy I do! 

Now this Balkan League was directed against 
Turkey and Austria-Hungary; in other words, 
against Germany; and it was the work of Eng- 
land. Eussia stood godfather to it once it was 
finished, having aided its accomplishment, but it 



230 Revelations of an International Spy 

was originated by Bourcliier. How necessary it 
was — from the English point of view — to draw 
away Russia from the Far East was once more 
vividly brought home to English statesmen in 
January, 1912, when Russia invaded outer Mon- 
golia. This was preceded by a secret Russo- 
Japanese Treaty, notwithstanding the Anglo- 
Japanese Treaty renewed in July, 1911. This 
sinister activity of Russia in the Far East, her 
pact with Germany in the Gulf, the signing of the 
second Franco-German Agreement, all brought 
forcefully out the bankruptcy of Grey's policy and 
diplomacy. 

He veered round and sent Haldane to Berlin. 
This was in February, 1912. Dates are impor- 
tant, as will be clear presently. The Haldane ne- 
gotiations were continued in London, between 
Grey and Count Metternich, German Ambassador. 
Germany was willing and did several times modify 
her attitude, her proposals, but alas! Grey's mind 
was poisoned against Germany, and as soon as 
the danger had passed he deliberately frustrated 
the Anglo-German negotiations. Grey refused 
to meet Germany half way, ^ ^fearing he might 
offend France and Russia." In these words of 
Grey (and these are the actual words he used), the 
criminal designs of Grey's policy are glaringly 
revealed. But, I can hear some reader interject- 
ing, but why should he send Haldane to Berlin to 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 231 

negotiate if he did not want to conclude an agree- 
ment with Germany? 

The Kussian menace was the sole cause of 
Grey^s Anglo-German negotiations. He contin- 
ued these negotiations as long as he was uncertain 
of Eussia. Indeed, he would have gone to any 
lengths with Germany against Eussia. But when 
his schemes in the Balkans matured, he knew that 
he had Eussia in the hollow of his hand. 

I said above that dates are important. Cer- 
tainly they are. Haldane went to Berlin in 
February and the negotiations were continued in 
London until May. In March, 1912, the Bulgar- 
Servian Treaty was signed. In April, the treaty 
between Greece and Bulgaria and in May the 
Serb-Greek Treaty was signed. The Balkan 
League was a fait accompli. The work for Eus- 
sia was cut out. The cleverly engineered an- 
tagonism between Eussia and Austria-Hungary 
was driven to a climax. The Triple Entente were 
ready for war and war came. On October 8, 1912, 
the first Balkan War was declared — it was a war 
more against Austria-Hungary than Turkey. 
The Serb-Bulgar Treaty contained a clause 
against Austria. 

And what did Germany and Austria-Hungary 
do? These so-called military nations, who are 
continually on the look-out for bloodshed and 
conquest? They worked for peace, as Sir Ed- 



232 Revelations of an International Spy 

ward Grey and Mr. Asquith publicly and re- 
peatedly declared in the House of Commons. 
Will any intelligent student of history deny that 
had Austria-Hungary stationed only five army 
corps on the Danube, Servia would have been de- 
feated by the Turks in Macedonia and the whole 
Balkan War would have ended disastrously for 
the Balkan League 1 Or if Austria-Hungary had 
attacked Italy in 1911 when Italy was busy with 
the Turks ^ But Austria-Hungary does not at- 
tack her ally when that ally is busy with other 
enemies. Such conduct was reserved for Italy! 

Yes, Austria-Hungary did something in the 
first Balkan War; she permitted Servia and 
Montenegro to treat the Sanjak of Novibazar as 
Turkish territory and join forces there, which 
was of incalculable strategical advantage. And 
who brought the first Balkan War abruptly to 
an end at a time when the crowning victory of cap- 
turing Constantinople was within the grasp of the 
Bulgarian! Who I England and Eussia! They 
prohibited Bulgaria following up her victories! 
They actually called her to stop at Tchadaldja! 

Eussia, *^the Mother of All Slavdom,'* cer- 
tainly. Eussia is quite in favor of the Southern 
Slavs fighting battles. That is her whole inter- 
est in them. Eussian intrigues and Eussian 
breach of faith caused the Second Balkan War. 
Sazonoff by denying the existence of the secret 



The Triple Entente Conspiracy 233 

treaty of 1902 between Russia and Bulgaria, the 
former guaranteeing the integrity of Bulgarian 
territory, enabled Roumania to stab Bulgaria in 
the back and occupy the territory Turtukaia- 
Baltchik. 

The Treaty of Bucharest, which ended the Sec- 
ond Balkan War — the work of the Triple Entente 
— left sores everywhere. I was at the time in 
Bucharest and I predicted then and there a Euro- 
pean war within two years. It actually came ex- 
actly a year afterward. The Russian Minister, 
Hartwig, relentlessly pursued his anti-Austrian 
intrigues in Belgrade. The rest is known, how 
England — from the very first — ^backed up Russia 
at all costs, and how this and this alone precipi- 
tated the present war. If the Parliamentary Com- 
mission suggested by me will be appointed and 
will do its work honestly and fearlessly, then the 
world need not wait till future generations to 
learn the true history of the present war. I have 
told it in this present volume and I challenge the 
British Government to refute me. I cannot con- 
clude this chapter more fittingly than by quoting 
from an inspired editorial of the London Times on 
July 31, 1914, which, by the way, effectively dis- 
poses of the Belgian pretext. 

**A German advance through Belgium into the 
north of France might enable Germany to ac- 
quire possession of Antwerp, Flushing, and even 



234 Revelations of an International Spy 

Dunkirk and Calais, whicli might then become 
German naval bases against England. 

** France does not threaten our security. A 
German victory over France would threaten it 
irremediably. Even should the German navy re- 
main inactive, the occupation of Belgium and 
Northern France by German troops would strike 
a crushing blow at British security. We should 
then be obliged alone, and without allies, to bear 
the burden of keeping up a fleet superior to that 
of Germany and of an army proportionately 
strong. This burden would be ruining us. The 
instinct of self-preservation, therefore, compels 
us to be ready to strike with all our force for our 
own safety, and for that of our friends.'^ Here 
you have British policy in a nutshell ! 

In the next chapter I shall describe an unsuc- 
cessful attempt to do naval and military espionage 
for Germany in England since the outbreak of 
the war. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE DANGEROUS EUSE WHICH WON THE CON- 
FIDENCE OF THE BRITISH FOREIGN OFFICE 

WHEN Legationsrath Gneist, the Ger- 
man Consul at Rotterdam, reads 
these words he will understand the 
dangerous game I was playing and the necessity 
for deception that I had to practise even upon him. 
When it finally became clear, that life in England 
for me, and every other naturalized foreigner, 
had become impossible, the cumulative effect of 
the spy hunting epidemic, the impending ruin of 
my business and the personal insult to which I was 
subjected under the roof of my own club (the Na- 
tional Liberal) filled me with a bitter desire for 
revenge. I made up my mind to shake England's 
dust from my feet but not without ' ' getting even. ' ' 

The plan I mapped out to achieve this will seem 
to many rather startling. It was certainly orig- 
inal. It was nothing less than a decision to find 
out important naval and military secrets and to 
betray them to Germany, and, having achieved 
that, to quit England forever, if still alive. 

This is no mere figure of speech. I knew that 

235 



236 Revelations of an International Spy 

what I was going to do was teclmically high trea- 
son, but my blood was boiling in me at all the 
calculated barbarities inflicted by a haughty, per- 
fidious race upon innocent people. 

My aim as stated was simplicity itself, but to 
carry it out meant clever acting. Indeed, to ef- 
fectively carry out my scheme it was essential 
that my plan of campaign should be known only 
to me. 

To obtain the secret information required in 
my hazardous undertaking necessitated a confi- 
dential berth in the War Office. This was not so 
easily accomplished. I offered my services in 
turn to the Home Secretary, to Sir Edward Grey 
and to Mr. Churchill, all of whom I knew person- 
ally, but they were not accepted. Next I at- 
tempted to get into the Counter-Espionage De- 
partment (M. 0. 5 J.) at the War Office. Just 
what happened I will set out in some detail. 

On December 10 I called on Lieutenant-Colonel 
Bellamy at the War Office and asked him to in- 
troduce me to the Secret Service officers. For- 
tunately for my plans I had for several weeks at 
the outbreak of hostilities served under this officer 
as censor of all Hungarian and Kumanian cor- 
respondence and cables at the War Office and at 
the Mount Pleasant Post Office. 

My old chief at once presented me to Major 
Anderson in room 225 of the War Office, who 



The Dangerous Ruse 237 

next day presented me to Capt. P. W. Kenny, 
who is the acting chief of the Secret Service at 
the War Office, or rather of the military Counter- 
Espionage service. Captain Kenny is an officer 
of rare intelligence and ability and is one of the 
best linguists I had met in England. But then he 
is an Irishman. As an ex-M. P. I was cordially 
received. 

Now my aim really was nothing less than to 
lure part of the British fleet into a certain quar- 
ter of the North Sea on a certain day and to have 
the German fleet within easy steaming distance. 
In order to procure this, I proposed just the re- 
verse to Captain Kenny and laid before him a 
carefully prepared scheme, the ostensible purpose 
of which was to destroy part of the German navy. 

The plan I proposed to Captain Kenny was as 
follows : 

**You lose, as a risk of war, vessels of all de- 
scription. Battleships, cruisers, destroyers, etc. 
Why not sacrifice one or two of these with a view 
of destroying part of the German Navy!" 

**Now what do you mean?" he queried. 

*^You will send two or three cruisers, or one 
dreadnought and two cruisers, with attendant de- 
stroyers and torpedo boats, on some errand in the 
North Sea. You will let me know three or four 
days beforehand. I will notify the Germans and 
they will naturally seud a more powerful squad- 



238 Revelations of an International Spy 

ron to the same vicinity on the same day in order 
to destroy them. In order not to send your men 
to certain death, you will tell them what is going 
to happen. They will be prepared ; they will fight. 
Surely, some of your vessels will be sunk, for the 
Germans, knowing the type and number of your 
vessels, will be well prepared to deal with you. 
Yet it is almost certain that some of your vessels, 
at any rate, will escape and it is equally probable 
that in the fight you will damage or sink a German 
vessel. The Germans will then see that my in- 
formation was correct. Now we will do this twice 
more; each time you must be ready to sacrifice 
some war vessels of old types. 

** After we have done this, say, three times, you 
will send a bigger squadron in order to lure out a 
large, or the largest, part of the German High Sea 
Fleet. In addition to your *bait' squadron, you 
will have a very powerful squadron of dread- 
noughts and battle cruisers within easy steaming 
distance, but far enough that even with the most 
powerful glasses they cannot be discerned on the 
horizon. You will give instructions to your ^bait' 
squadron how to fight and in which direction to 
run during the fight, luring the Germans into a 
trap ; of course, you must have this well out in the 
North Sea, otherwise the Germans will not follow 
you towards your own coast. You might make an 
apparent attempt to force Heligoland, or bombard 



The Dangerous Ruse 239 

Borkum, and then keep up a running fight towards 
Eosyth. You can then have a powerful squadron 
north and south of the prescribed fighting course 
and capture or destroy the pursuing Germans.** 
This was the scheme submitted to Captain Kenny. 

My real scheme was as follows : Not to tell the 
Germans what I told the English. In secret serv- 
ice one must not and cannot trust any one. I 
would have worked on the assumption that at the 
very first ^^baif fighting the English would have 
had a powerful squadron waiting within steaming 
distance, so that the Germans would not have 
taken them by surprise, but would have found 
them adequately prepared in any event. The 
Germans would have taken the necessary precau- 
tions. 

Now, supposing the English had acted according 
to my scheme two or three times, and I knew that 
the next time would have been the big scoop, two 
ways were open for the Germans : either to be sat- 
isfied with the number of ships they had de- 
stroyed during the previous two or three rendez- 
vous, and keep away; or, send all their available 
ships to outnumber the English. They could have 
done what they considered best. Of course, if the 
Germans had not turned up at the rendezvous 
after two or three smaller naval battles, the Ad- 
miralty would have known that I was a German 
spy and would have shot me if they had still found 



240 Revelations of an International Spy 

me in England. But they would not have found 
me there. 

To carry out my plan was not so simple. I could 
not possibly propose this audacious plan to the 
Germans, for they would have mistrusted me. It 
is one of the safeguards of diplomatic espionage 
to distrust your immediate and *^most trusted'' 
agents, as well. I was sure, however, that after 
a few weeks I could have worked it so that they 
would have followed my lead. Independent of 
everybody I intended managing the scheme myself 
as follows : 

I would have advised the Admiralty, with whom 
I was connected, that I knew from the Germans 
that they are going to raid the English coast 
again. How did I know this without creating the 
suspicion that I was a German spy? Oh, very 
easily. By telling the English at the very outset 
that I was indeed a German spy, but only in order 
to accomplish a very complicated and daring ruse 
for England. In corroboration of this I gave 
them valuable German information, including two 
codes, keeping one for myself so that I could com- 
municate with the Germans. 

I hope the reader follows me in this tangled 
vein of cross-plotting. Now, then, I would have 
walked up to the Admiralty and said: *^I met a 
German spy to-day and I got very valuable infor- 
mation from him, but I can only tell you if you do 



The Dangerous Ruse 241 

not arrest him, for that will give both of us away. 
He just tells me that he had orders to be in Seaton 
Carew, take a room facing the sea in a high build- 
ing on such and such a day and signal during the 
night out to sea, because a raid will be made on 
the Hartlepools.'' 

It is certain that the English would have sent 
a squadron to deal with the supposed ** German 
raiders," and naturally enough they would not 
have come too near to Hartlepools so as not to 
frighten away the Germans. 

I would have, indeed, sent one of the numerous 
Germans in London to Seaton Carew with instruc- 
tions what to do. But what is more important, 
I would have immediately cabled to the Germans 
that a squadron will be near the Hartlepools on 
the night of such and such a day, because the 
English have information that the Germans are 
to make a raid. How could I have sent such a 
telegram out of England? Wait and see. All 
will be explained below. Now the Germans would 
have seen that I had advance naval intelligence of 
the English squadron, while the English would 
have seen that my information about a German 
raid somewhere at the Hartlepools was correct. 
Of course, I would have refrained from mention- 
ing how many German warships would come ; so 
that the Germans would have been at liberty to 
send ten or sixteen vessels of various types and 



242 Revelations of an International Spy 

descriptions. It is certain that the English would 
not have expected more than four or six raiders. 
The Germans would have won. Needless to say 
I could not repeat this very same operation; but 
I could have executed a second one like this : 

**I have information that in a few days' time 
the Germans will send during the night two fast 
battle cruisers to bombard Dunkirk." 

What arrangements would the British have 
made? 

It is certain that they would have made a two- 
fold arrangement. First, to send a small squad- 
ron to fight the Dunkirk raiders; second, a big 
and powerful squadron would have been cruising 
about the North Sea to intercept these two raiders 
and prevent them reaching their bases. This 
would have been my opportunity. I would have 
advised the Germans that about six British war 
vessels will cruise off Dunkirk, and that a very 
large and powerful squadron will be north of Wil- 
helmshaven, or about there, on such and such a 
date. The Germans would have known the whole 
story, the English only a small part of it, and they 
would have been caught in a fearful trap. Why 
and how this scheme could not be carried out — I 
will explain further on. 

In order to succeed the easier I explained my 
alleged scheme to a friend of mine, an M.P., who 
was so struck with its feasibility that he promised 



The Dangerous Ruse 243 

to mention it to Mr. McPherson, M.P., who is Par- 
liamentary Secretary to Lord Kitchener. He 
also spoke to Mr» McKenna, the Home Secretary, 
in the Commons. Needless to say, he did not 
know of my real intentions. If this should reach 
his eyes he will be not a little surprised. Of 
course Mr. McPherson and Mr. McKenna in read- 
ing this will immediately know to which M.P. I 
am referring. 

My object in doing this was to forestall Captain 
Kenny's probable inquiries. 

On December 7, I met Captain Kenny at the 
War Office by appointment. He told me my plan 
was under consideration and he then went once 
more into a discussion of my scheme. 

On December 16, I again met Captain Kenny. 
He told me that my plan, though most admirable 
could not be accepted, as it would necessitate dis- 
closing to me the whereabouts of the British ifleet, 
or part of it, which could not be disclosed to any 
one, no matter what advantages might result from 
it. 

I was balked. However, by my plan and other 
factors I had evidently gained the confidence of 
Captain Kenny, who told me of a possibility of 
sending me in a few weeks ' time to a neutral coun- 
try for certain purposes. 

It was evident that I must adopt a new line of 
procedure. I knew that the headquarters of the 



244 Revelations of an International Spy 

German Espionage for England were at the 
German Consulate in Eotterdam and that the 
English, too, had many agents in that country. 
** Incidentally,'' he remarked, **we might ask you 
to go to Rotterdam to find out how much cocoa 
and other foodstuffs are exported from Holland 
into Germany," adding that they had found it 
hitherto very difficult to find this out. This at 
once showed me an opening. 

I said to myself, if such a comparatively easy 
matter causes the Counter-Espionage difficulties, 
provided I could find out this or other more im- 
portant things, surely that would enable me to get 
behind the scenes and thus accomplish my pur- 
pose. 

Next day, December 17, I left London for Rot- 
terdam, where I arrived on the evening of the 
18th. My trip to Rotterdam was not known to 
any one. 

Once there I had to devise means to gain the 
confidence of the German Consul. For it was evi- 
dent that I might prejudice my case if I should 
straightway offer my services to him. No matter 
how sincerely I wished to help him, he might con- 
sider me as an emissary of England, in which case 
the achievement of my purpose would be alto- 
gether impossible. 

Now my object was to obtain important secrets 
from the Germans which I would use as a means 



The Dangerous Ruse 245 

to get into the confidence of the English and find 
out and use things to their harm. 

Consequently I am constrained to admit that I 
worked the German Consul in Rotterdam as my 
tool, by not disclosing to him my true plan. I 
hope Consul Gneist will appreciate my explana- 
tion and not feel annoyed. 

But a word of advice to him. He must be more 
careful in the future. For indeed, if I had been 
an English agent the consequences might have 
been disastrous, so important were the official 
secrets he confided to me. 

Had I desired it to be so most if not all the Ger- 
man spies concerned would have been caught by 
the English. From the foregoing it will be clear 
that nothing was further from my thoughts. The 
information that would have enabled me to do this 
came unwittingly from the German Consul at 
Rotterdam, as we shall see. 

He knows now, of course, that while I could not 
carry out my scheme, I prevented the information 
he gave me from being of any real service to the 
English by warning him the very moment I saw 
my plan had miscarried. 

On December 30, I had so far succeeded that 
next day the German Consul promised me the de- 
livery of certain documents. 

During my conversation with Captain Kenny in 
London he told me once on service that although 



246 Revelations of an International Spy 

he knew that there were many German spies in 
England, he could not *' unearth'' their organiza- 
tion nor discover the general methods by which 
they sent their information to Germany. 

The information I got from the Consul on the 
30th placed in my hands the absolute and unques- 
tionable power and means to hunt down most, if 
not all, of the German spies in England — had I 
wished to do so. 

In passing, I should like to remark that the 
Germans are better informed of the Secret Service 
of England than the English of the Germans. I 
will only give two instances. 

On December 29, I had a conversation at the 
German Legation at The Hague with Lieut.-Col. 
von Ostertag, Military Attache of Germany, 
who, as Major Ostertag, was for seven years 
prior to the war German Military Attache in 
London. 

Lieut.-Col. von Ostertag during our conver- 
sation complained about a slighting remark 
Captain Kenny made about him to some one, fol- 
lowing the outbreak of the war. This was very 
significant, for, knowing Captain Kenny to be a 
gentleman, I knew that he would not make a 
remark of that nature about any one except to 
one in his confidence. It was obvious, therefore, 
that in Captain Kenny 's entourage there was some 
one who was in Germany's service. The other 



The Dangerous Ruse 247 

instance was furnished by Herr Legationsratb 
Grneist, the German Consul in Rotterdam. He not 
only knew a great deal of the Secret Service work 
of England, and of the disposition of part of the 
British Fleet, but he also knew one of the principal 
codes used by Captain Kenny's agents. 

I had to see the German Consul at 10 a.m. on 
December 31 by appointment. When I called at 
the Consulate he was not there, but had left a 
message for me, explaining that he had left for 
Wesel, Germany, that morning specially in my 
behalf, but would be back at 6 p.m. When I said 
that he could not do the return journey in that 
short time I was informed that a German motor 
car from Wesel was to meet him at Arnheim, take 
him to Wesel, and bring him back there. Wesel, 
it should be pointed out, is the headquarters of 
the Nachrichtendienst (Information Service) con- 
nected with Great Britain. 

Accordingly I called at 6 p.m. This was my 
final interview with the German Consul, and he 
promised to have all my instructions and codes 
copied out for me and sent to my hotel next morn- 
ing. It was considered advisable not to call again 
at the consulate as I might have been shadowed 
by English spies. 

Now I must describe the nature of the informa- 
tion and documents I obtained from the German 
Consul in Rotterdam, information — it should be 



248 Revelations of an International Spy 

borne in mind — by the use of which I hoped to ob- 
tain secrets of the British Secret Service for pur- 
poses already indicated; 

1. Exact knowledge how and by what means 
German spies in England transmitted their intel- 
ligence to Eotterdam. 

2. Two codes generally used by the German 
spies in England for the transmission of intelli- 
gence by cable and one code specially prepared for 
me. 

3. Some addresses in Eotterdam to which in- 
formation was being sent. 

4. A questionnaire drawn up by the Nachrich- 
tendienst in Wesel. 

5. The means by which the German spies in 
England were being financed. 

A detailed description of some of the above 
points may be of interest. As will be pointed out 
later, when my plan miscarried, I took steps to 
notify the Germans and warned them to effect im- 
mediate changes all around. This was nearly ten 
months ago, so that no harm can result from dis- 
closing these details now: 

Methods and channels of intelligence are di- 
vided into two categories: Urgent and Non- 
urgent. All urgent information is sent by cable, 
of course. It may be asked how it is possible for 
a German spy in England to send a telegram to 
Eotterdam, since there is a strict censorship in 



The Dangerous Ruse 249 

England and nothing but plain language messages 
were passed. 

To the uninitiated this may indeed seem an in- 
surmountable difficulty ; in fact, however, it is the 
simplest thing imaginable. 

The three codes above referred to are known in 
the German Secret Service as the * ^ family code, ' ' 
the *^oil code'' and the ^^Lagenscheidf code re- 
spectively. The '* family code'' and the ^'oil 
code" are restricted to reporting movements of 
the British Fleet. 

These two codes had key words for steering 
eastward, westward, north and south and for vari- 
ous longitudes and latitudes. Why! Because it 
was used extensively on the ocean and in the North 
Sea during the first few months of the war by 
German spies who were passengers on board 
ships. Whenever one of them saw a British 
squadron passing he promptly sent a wireless to 
a prearranged address sending love or best love 
to father, Alice, Daisy, Dorothy or Elsie, giving 
exact information of the number and type of war 
ships, longitude and latitude and direction in 
which they were steering. 

I can state as an absolute fact that British ships 
transmitted wireless messages not knowing that 
they reported their own fleets' movements. This 
code was used frequently until one wireless spy 
was caught by the British and put away. 



250 Revelations of an International Spy 



EXAIVIPLES OF THE "FAMILY CODE" AND "OIL CODE" 

( 1 ) Weber Rotterdam 

Best love to May love to Alice and fondest love to Aunt in 
Rosendaal Do write 

Joe 

(2) schebensky amsterdam 

Cable prices 5 consignments of vaseline, 8 paraffin 12 gasoil 
invoice per ivaggon need it 

Kellett 

(3) Van Stagen Co Rotterdam 

Quote without delay linseed oil cod ilueoil 30 days draft 
vaseline invoice per barrel 

Baxall 

TRANSLATIONS 

( 1 ) Weber Rotterdam 

Dearest love 
to May 



Keywords 
Code " 



two 
Lord Nelson 
Class Battleships^ 



best love to Alice 

two Super dreadnoughts 



Code fand fondest love to Aunt in Rosendaal do write 

Keywords \ four Torpedo Boats in Harwich riding at anchor 

(2) Scherensky Rotterdam 

Code r Cable prices 5 consignments vaseline 8 paraffin 

Keywords \ Dover 5 first class cruisers 8 seagoing destroyers 

Code r 12 gasoil invoice per waggon need it 

Keywords < 12 torpedo boats (dummy) steaming out northly 
(^ direction 

(3) Van Stagen Co Rotterdam 

Code r quote without delay linseed oil c.o.d blueoil 

J 30 days draft 

Keyword (^ Tyne two dreadnoughts four battle cruisers 5 

Code r vaseline invoice per barrel 

Keyword t first class cruisers (dummy) repairing 



As will be seen it is very easy once you have the 
key. But if you have not the key, no amount of 



The Dangerous Ruse 



251 



ingenuity, experience, or patient effort could ever 
decipher any of these messages. I will now give 
for the benefit of my readers three full and actual 
codes, which have been used during the first seven 
months of the war. I feel at liberty of disclosing 
them, for every one of them has been withdrawn, 
after a hint from me. 



Designation of Ships, 


Family Code 


Oil Code 


Harbors, Etc. 


Key Words 


Key Words 


Super-Dreadnought 


Alice 


Shale oil 


Dreadnoughts 


Daisy 


Linseed oil 


Lord Nelson Class 






Battleships 


May 


Beinzin 


Majestic Class Battle- 






ships 


Hilda 


Kerosene 


King Edward VII 






Class Battleships 


Ethel 


Gasolene 


Triumph and Swift- 






sure ( only these 






two exist of this 






type) 


Florence 


Crude oil 


Battle Cruisers 


Amy 


Blue oil 


First-Class Cruisers 


Rose 


Vaseline 


Second-Class Cruisers 


Ella 


Lubricating oil 


Third-Class Cruisers 


Pauline 


Petroleum 


Scouts 


Elsie 


Vegetable oils 


Seagoing Destroyers 


Father 


Paraffin 


Other Destroyers 


Uncle 


Residues 


Torpedo Boats 


Aunt 


Gas oil 


Submarines 


Sister 


Fuel oil 


Older Battleships (re- 






serve fleet) 


Brother 


Benzol 


The Tyne 


Amsterdam 


quote 


The Clyde 


Helder 


can you sell 


Rosyth Naval Base 


Utrecht 


can you deliver 


The Wash 


Tilborg 


have you on stock 


Grimsby 


Vlissingen 


how soon can you 
ship 


Hull 


Hook of Holland 


how quick can you 
deliver 


The Hartlepools 


Leyden 


when could you ship 


Harwich 


Rosendaal 


when do you expect 



252 Revelations of an International Spy 



Designation of Ships, 


Family Code 


Oil Code 


Harbors, Etc. 


Key Words 


Key Words 


Dover 


Harlem 


cable prices 


Folkestone 


Arnheim 


wire prices 


Chatham Dockyard 


Ymuiden 


can quote 


Portsmouth Dockyard 


Breda 


could you offer 


Portland Dockyard 


Zandvoord 


can you offer 


The Nore 


Schiedam 


can you ship 


Boulogne 


Gennep 


could you ship 


Calais 


Dortrecht 


buy for me 


Dunkirk 


Maastricht 


quote for me 


Cherbourg 


Bergen-op-Zoon 


why didn't you ship 


Havre 


Middleburg 


why didn't you send 


Brest 


Oldenloe 


can you acquire 


Berehaven 


Venloe 


could you acquire 


in damaged condition 


am well 


tons 


repairing 


am quite well 


barrel 


riding at anchor 


do write 


cisterns 


steaming out 


am feeling well 


waggons 


passed squadron 


thinking of you 


cwt 


steaming north 


sending 


need it 


^teaming south 


am sending 


need it much 


steaming east 


sending you 


very urgent 


steaming west 


sending to you 


ui-gently wanted 


cruising about 


hope all well 


nauch needed 


1 


love 


1 or quickly 


2 


best love 


2 or without delay 


3 


dearest love 


3 or f.o.b. 


4 


fondest love 


4 or c.o.d. 


5 


much love 


5 or 30 days draft 


6 


deepest love 


6 or 45 days draft 


7 


greetings 


7 or 60 days draft 


8 


best greetings 


8 or 75 days draft 


9 


heartiest greetings 


9 or 90 days draft 


10 


greetings and love 


10 or 120 days draft 


11 


love and greetings 


11 or as soon as pos- 
sible 

12 or by return 


12 


best regards 


over 12 


kindest regards 


im,mediately 



The two codes given, the '*OiP' and the '^Fam- 
ily'' codes, can only be used for naval intelligence ; 
nothing else can be transmitted in them. How 



The Dangerous Ruse 253 

could I, then, notify the Germans of other mat- 
ters? Supposing I wanted to send any of the fol- 
lowing messages: 

1. Eaid will be made on Heligoland within 
week. 

or 

2. Four divisions new troops leaving for France. 

or 

3. Am suspected be careful advise changing all 
codes notify all your agents. 

or 

4. New dreadnought added to navy. 

To enable me to send any messages on any sub- 
ject, I had a third code, known to the Secret Serv- 
ice as Dictionary Code, because I take the neces- 
sary words out of any dictionary — English-Ger- 
man, German-English, French-English or Ger- 
man-French. I simply cable the numbers of page, 
column and place of word. 

To mislead the censor I put dummy words 
into the message. The addressee of my mes- 
sage, as already pointed out, did not possess 
the key to my message; he simply acted as go- 
between out of sympathy for the German cause. 
Any dictionary will do, as long as the recipient 
of my message has the same, the very same, 
edition of same year. Pocket dictionaries of 
Lagenschneidt are the best, for they do contain 



254 Revelations of an International Spy 

two columns of twelve words on each page, which, 
in view of the fact that a shilling has 12 pence, is 
rather an advantage. But it is not absolutely 
necessary. The examples to follow are taken out 
of Wessely's Hand Dictionary (English-German), 
revised edition. 

I will now translate all the four messages 
above : 

1. Webeb Rotterdam 

Market on account of Russian reverses disorganized not much 
business done your holdings following quotations 
(raid) (will) (be) (made) (on) (island) (Fortress) 
169/39 239/15 21/45 129/10 144/22 119/39 92/15 

(Within) (week) 

239/36 237/21 

Advise you buy American war stock. 

Laming 

It will be noted I did not code the word Heli- 
goland, simply because my dictionary does not 
contain that word, so I had to describe it in 
some other way. It will be obvious that to 
mention Heligoland would have been sheer mad- 
ness. 

The second message would read as follows: 

2. Van Spange Utrecht 

Your letter received prices too high am willing to close as 
follows : 

(four) (divisions) (new) (troops) (leaving) (for) 
92/02 70/019 140/07 217/033 124/026 91/13 

(France) 
93/15 

Bullock 

The signifies second column word 2, or sec- 
ond column 19, etc. 



The Dangerous Ruse 255 

The third message would read as follows : 

3, Vanden Bebgh Rotterdam 

Goods despatched to-day via Batavier Line mailing invoice as 
follows 

(am suspected) (be) (careful) (advise) (changing) (all) 
2060/19 21/45 340/30 6/022 38/4 9/10 

(codes) (notify) (all) (your) (agents) 

43/17 1410/32 9/10 2420/4 7/017 

Calvert 

It will be noted that is in this message some- 
times affixed to the first figure, sometimes to the 
second. It is a simple device to confuse the cen- 
sor or the Counter-Espionage. The meaning is 
the same: second column. To take above mes- 
sage, for instance : Page 206, word 19 in second 
column ; page 34, word 36 in second column. How 
does he know that it is not page 340 ? Simply be- 
cause my dictionary and his have only 250 pages. 
In other words, I can put the to the first or sec- 
ond figure in numbers exceeding 250; but cer- 
tainly not in numbers below 250, for that would 
cause not only confusion but might make the de- 
ciphering impossible. 

The fourth message would read as follows: 

4. Weber Rottekdam 

Upon publication of Field Marshall French's report market 
recovered 

(new) (dreadnought) (added) (to) (Navy) 

1400/7 720/16 5/16 214/11 1390/25 

Laming 

All words in dictionary codes are merely dum- 
mies. 



256 Revelations of an International Spy 

Needless to say, I was provided with various 
addresses and for each address another signature 
previously agreed upon. 

A word about non-urgent messages sent by mail. 
It is known that all letters coming into Great 
Britain, or leaving Great Britain, are opened by 
the censors and read. Yet for many months in- 
formation reached the Germans in ordinary or 
business letters. 

These letters did not contain any indication that 
they were not bona fide. But between the lines, 
dealing with family, business or other matters, 
were written in invisible ink the messages of the 
spies. This went on during the first six months 
of the war. The boast of the English that they 
knew this and used it in the name of Kuepferle 
needs qualification. Indeed, I am bold enough to 
flatly contradict it, and I challenge both Captain 
Kenny of the War Office, and Captain Hall, R. N., 
Director of Naval Intelligence at the Admiralty, 
to contradict me when I say that before January 
3, 1915, they had no idea of this, although they 
spent thousands of pounds trying to find it out. 

Another means of transmitting information 
through the mail from England was to write in 
invisible ink on the white margin of English daily 
papers, weeklies or magazines and then to send 
them in an ordinary wrapper to a prearranged ad- 
dress in Holland. As Consul Gneist laughingly 



The Dangerous Ruse 257 

remarked to me: ^'Tliey can open all the letters 
they like; I am getting most of my postal infor- 
mation on the Times and other English papers." 

Information to the spies in England from head- 
quarters in Rotterdam was conveyed in the same 
manner and by messengers crossing from Hol- 
land. 

Two kinds of invisible inks are most generally 
used, i. e., lemon juice and cream milk. They are 
preferred to chemical invisible inks on account 
of their simplicity of use. You write a letter to 
a supposed friend. Between the written lines you 
write in lemon juice or cream milk. When dry 
they are invisible. Your * ^friend," when receiv- 
ing the letter, heats them and the writing im- 
mediately appears. 

Now I come to the questionnaire drawn up 
by the Nachrichtendiest in Wesel. It put several 
questions to me on which they desired informa- 
tion. This questionnaire disclosed the fact that 
the Germans knew but little about Kitchener ^s 
army, its recruiting, composition, organization, 
the transport of troops from England to France, 
the training camps in England, and about numer- 
ous matters connected with the Indian troops, 
their camps in France, etc. 

It was this document which evoked from Cap- 
tain Kenny the following remark: **How inter- 
esting, how interesting. I must show this to Lord 



258 Revelations of an International Spy 

Kitchener at once. He will be awfully amused 
and interested/' 

Having gathered all the information, as above 
described, or rather having known on the 30th that 
I should get it next day in writing, I had carefully 
to consider how to use it. 

There was the first difficulty of carrying the 
papers into England to face. I was not satis- 
fied with sending this kind of information to 
Holland. My ambition went higher ; to obtain the 
confidence I needed, I determined to pretend to the 
English that I had gone to Holland to get posses- 
sion of important German secrets in order to be 
of service to England. 

I set out to accomplish something. To do it 
successfully I had to obtain the assistance of the 
German Secret Service agents. If I had disclosed 
my entire plan to the German Consul in Kotter- 
dam he would not have entertained it for a minute : 
I, therefore, only told him part of my scheme. 
He quite understood, however, that I wanted to 
be and was going to be, of help to him and his 
service. I was not on his staff. I did not ask 
any remuneration for my services ; indeed, I dis- 
tinctly told him I wanted none. I was free to act 
to the best of my own judgment, and under these 
circumstances I felt justified in not disclosing to 
him the precise nature of my scheme. 

One thing, however, I was bound to consider: 



The Dangerous Ruse 259 

In case my scheme should miscarry I had to pre- 
vent any great or lasting harm resulting there- 
from to the Germans. This I did. Indeed, there 
was only one chance that I would not succeed, one 
chance only. I knew how it could arise; whence 
it might come. It was indeed this one thing which 
nullified my efforts. It was not the cleverness of 
the English Secret Service, it was this accidental 
and incidental circumstance which for the time be- 
ing enabled Captain Hall to stultify me. He will 
know what I mean. 

But he is not yet through with me. We shall 
meet at Philippi. I owe him yet a reply to the 
last interview I had with him in his room at the 
Admiralty on January 28, in reply to an official 
telegram I received from him. I will pay him in 
my own way and time. 

On December 30, 1914, I knew, as already re- 
marked, that next day I should have the various 
codes, documents, etc. 

I sat down and wrote a letter to Captain Kenny 
somewhat on the following lines ; 

**Dear Captain Kenny: 

*^You will no doubt be surprised to get a letter 
from me from Eotterdam. Seeing that for some 
reason unknown to me you hesitated to employ me, 
I came here on the 17th inst. in order to prove to 
you that I could indeed be of great service to you. 



260 Revelations of an International Spy 

I prefer not to divulge in a letter the result of my 
work, but I can tell you so much that you will be 
astonished and pleased. I shall leave here on 
Friday, January 1, arriving in London Saturday 
evening, and if possible, should like to see you the 
same evening. Please drop me a line to my club. 

* ^ I shall call there on, my way home. 

**I am sending this letter through the British 
Consul here so that it shall quickly and safely 
reach you.'' 

I want to draw attention to the last paragraph. 
There was a reason for this. In order to cross to 
England I had to have my passport viseed at the 
British Consulate General in Kotterdam. To 
avoid unpleasant questions about my sojourn in 
Eotterdam and in order to obtain unmolested ac- 
cess into England I put the letter in an envelope 
and addressed it as follows : 

Capt. P. W. Kenny, 
M. 0. 5 J. 

War Office. 

and headed straightway with it to the British Con- 
sulate. 

The mystic letters M. 0. 5 J. I knew would do 
everything for me. They did. 

Arriving at the Consulate General I asked to 
see the Consul General himself. The nature of 



The Dangerous Ruse 261 

my business? That was only for the Consults 
ears. My card was taken in and forthwith I was 
shown into the Vice-ConsuPs room. 

I pulled the envelope from my inside pocket 
with studied deliberation and showed it to the 
Vice-Consul. When he saw the letters M. 0. 5 J. 
and the name of Captain Kenny, he thought I 
must be of the English Secret Service. He looked 
up at me like a shot, pulled a chair as close as 
possible and asked me to be seated. In whisper- 
ing tones he asked me whence I came, what I had 
done, etc. I gave him such replies as I wanted. 
I told him my object in calling was to ask him to 
forward my letter at once in his official despatch 
bag to the Foreign Office in London for safe trans- 
mission to Captain Kenny and to vise my pass- 
port. He readily consented. We had quite an 
interesting conversation and he suggested that he 
introduce me to the Consul General. He took me 
into the Consul GeneraPs private room. He is 
Mr. E. G. B. Maxse, a brother of the notorious 
German eater, the editor of the National Review 
(London). We had about an hour's conversa- 
tion, of which I must mention two details; first 
to show how inefficient the English Secret Service 
is, and secondly, how easily it is fooled. 

During our conversation the British Consul- 
General complained to me that he had a certain 
letter (how obtained I do not know) which he had 



262 Revelations of an International Spy 

reasons to believe contained matters in invisible 
ink. Could I tell him how to make invisible ink 
visible? He had tried all kinds of things but 
could not make the ink visible. Comment un- 
necessary. I told him that I was returning to 
London in a day or two with very important docu- 
ments and I wanted him to allow me to put them 
into his official envelope under his own official 
seal. He suggested that he should send them to 
the Foreign Office. To this I demurred. He then 
readily agreed to my request. Could he read 
them? I said he better not. He ultimately agreed. 

Next day, December 31, 1914, 1 saw the German 
Consul after his return from Wesel and it was 
arranged that he would send everything I had 
asked for to my hotel next morning. 

Friday, January 1, I received through a mes- 
senger of the Consulate all he promised. Forth- 
with I drove to the British Consulate where the 
documents were put under seal without being read 
or even seen, and a code message sent to the 
Foreign Office, London, at my dictation, somewhat 
to the following effect. 

^* Advise Captain Kenny, "War Office, Mr. Lin- 
coln leaving to-night with important documents." 

I left Kotterdam New Year's Day, arriving in 
London next day — Saturday evening. When I ar- 
rived at Folkestone all passengers were subjected 
to a close scrutiny, examination and search. 



The Dangerous Ruse 263 

When the Secret Service men there started ques- 
tioning me, instead of replying to their questions 
I pulled out the large official envelope bearing 
the official seal of the British Consulate General 
in Rotterdam and showed it to the man at my 
left (there was a Secret Service man on each 
side). When he saw the seal and the address he 
let me pass, remarking to the one on my right, 
**M. 0. 5 J.'' They both saluted me and I passed 
through. 

I drove to my club (the National Liberal), 
where I found this letter from Captain Kenny: 

*^2— 1— '15. 
^^War Office, Whitehall, S. W. 
*'Dear Mr. Lincoln: 

^^I shall be very interested to hear your news. 
I am here till 7.30 p.m. Ftom 7.30 to 9.30 p.m. 
Telephone No. 3460 Vic. will find me, if you care 
to call me up. To-morrow, Sunday, I can see you 
any time between 11 and 1, or between 3.30 and 
6.30, only please let me know by 'phone when I 
may expect you. Yours sincerely, 

(Signed) P. W. Kenny, Capt.'' 

I accordingly called up the number indicated, 
but Captain Kenny had already left the place. I 
left a message for him that I would call at the 
W. 0. next day at 11 as suggested. I did. And 



264 Revelations of an International Spy 

I was closeted with Captain Kenny exactly three 
hours. 

Captain Kenny was keenly anxious to hear my 
story. First of all I told him that I went to Rot- 
terdam because the British Secret Service would 
not employ me and I was desirous of showing him 
that I could be of great service to him. 

^^You are a sportsman, '^ remarked Captain 
Kenny. I then asked him the following ques- 
tions : 

*^What amount of money is the British Govern- 
ment willing to spend in order to obtain the fol- 
lowing information and documents ? 

**1. The code by which the movements of the 
British fleet have been and are being reported to 
Germany. 

* ^ 2. A code which is being used by German spies 
in England for the transmission of telegrams (in 
plain language) to Holland. 

^^3. The means, methods and channels they em- 
ploy to send intelligence through the mails. 

^^4. Some addresses to which telegrams and let- 
ters are being sent. 

^'5. A disclosure how they are financed and 
through what channels. 

^ ^ 6. A document which would show what the Ger- 
mans do and do not know of the British Army.'' 

Captain Kenny was speechless. Before he re- 
covered from his evident surprise I pointedly 



The Dangerous Ruse 265 

asked him : * ' Do you know any of these things ? ' * 
He hesitated to reply. 

**It is no use, Captain," I said, **to tell me that 
you do, for I know that you do not." 

**Mr. Lincoln," he replied, ^4t is no use to ask 
that question because it is impossible to obtain 
any of that information. ' ' 

**But supposing it were possible," I replied, 
**what are you willing to spend to obtain posses- 
sion of it?" 

'■ '■ Granted for the sake of argument that it were 
possible — money would be no consideration." 

**Very well, then," I said, '^I have much pleas- 
ure supplying all this to you free." 

Words fail me to describe the effect of my 
words upon the captain. 

**What do you mean? I cannot understand 
you," he said. 

**I mean that all this information is in this 
room," said I, reaching into my pocket, **and I 
have much pleasure in handing it to you uncondi- 
tionally. ' ' 

I drew the large envelope from my pocket, 
pointed out that the seal was untouched and 
handed it to the captain. 

Captain Kenny broke the seals, eagerly read 
through all the documents, made copious notes 
and drew up a long report of all I told him. 

He was quite beside himself with excitement. 



266 Revelations of an International Spy 

He could not sufficiently express his thanks, his 
astonishment. Before I left it was agreed that I 
must be employed in connection with this matter, 
indeed he insisted I must continue to work the 
thing, which augured well for my success. He 
said he was going to make a report of the whole 
matter that very afternoon and present it to Lord 
Kitchener, who, he said, would be immensely 
pleased, and to the Admiralty, and would let me 
know next day. 

Next morning, January 4, 1 went to my club and 
found the following letter from Captain Kenny: 

"Dear Mr. Lincoln: "War Office. 

* ^ A certain naval officer would very much like to 
see you. He proposes calling on you (with me) 
at your club between 12 and 1 to-morrow. He is 
an authority on oil. I hope you will be in the 
club then; in any case I shall expect you here at 
3.30 P.M. *^ Yours sincerely, 

'^ (Signed) P. W. Kenny, Capt." 

The words *^he is an authority on oiP^ were put 
into the letter as a *^ blind." Captain Kenny 
called at my club at 12.20 p. m. and told me that the 
naval officer would not be introduced to me by his 
name, as that must remain a profound secret. In- 
deed I do not know to this day who he is. He is 
simply known to me as * ^ C. " 




CI. 
03 



The Dangerous Ruse 267 

Captain Kenny also asked me not to be sur- 
prised if our meeting place be somewhat unusual. 
A few minutes later a page boy came to me and 
told us that a naval officer was waiting in a taxi 
downstairs. 

**This means/' the captain said, *'that we shall 
have to go.'' 

We entered the taxi and drove about the streets 
of London one hour and twenty minutes. It was 
explained to me that this was done for absolute 
secrecy in order to prevent German agents shad- 
owing us. The naval officer, I learned, is and has 
been for ten years the chief officer of England's 
Secret Service. When we met he thanked me pro- 
fusely and promised to let me have matter which 
his department would ask me to transmit to Rot- 
terdam to hoodwink the Germans. 

Here I must explain that I withheld from the 
British one piece of information which would en- 
able me at any time things did not go according to 
my program to warn the German Consul in Rot- 
terdam. 

Between January 4th and 7th nothing happened, 
and I took it that they were preparing and outlin- 
ing work for me. On January 7th, not hearing 
anything from either the War Office of the Admi- 
ralty, I went to the War Office and remonstrated 
with Captain Kenny for the delay. I was grow- 
ing uneasy about the silence on personal grounds. 



268 Revelations of an International Spy 

I was afraid the British might be acting behind 
my back to take the matter out of my hands and 
effectively deceive the Germans. Consequently, 
in order to play my role of pretending to serve 
them, I had to take a strong attitude; in other 
words, to whistle, because I was afraid. 

Captain Kenny rang up ^^C" in my presence 
and told him that I was there and that we (Captain 
Kenny and I) thought it important that something 
should be done. ^^C said he was very busy that 
day, but in a day or two he would be ready for 
me. 

When two days later I still had no news I grew 
very uneasy and considered myself in constant 
danger. On January 9 I again rang up Captain 
Kenny. He promised me that he would attend to 
the matter at once and asked me to call at the 
War Office Monday, January 11. This I did. 

Captain Kenny could not give me a satisfactory 
reason for the delay and silence of ^^C." Indeed, 
I gained the impression that the captain, himself, 
did not know what was going on. The matter 
apparently had been taken out of his hands. I 
gave him a friendly ultimatum, saying that unless 
I heard from him by the morrow I would lay the 
facts of the case before the Eight Hon. Sir Henry 
Dalziel Bart, M.P. 

I had to show plenty of courage and resentment. 
Indeed, I made up my mind to find out what was 



The Dangerous Ruse 269 

going on behind the scenes. If developments 
were proceeding contrary to my plan I could then 
disappear quickly from England and warn the 
Germans. 

Next day, January 12, there was still no news. 
It was evident that I would have to act quickly. I 
decided to see Sir Henry. This I did because I 
knew from my parliamentary days that Sir Henry 
is one of the few independent Eadicals who fear 
nobody. He is the owner of the great radical 
weekly, Reynolds Newspaper j also a kind of un- 
official leader of a small set of extreme Eadicals 
below the gangway in the House, and he wields 
great influence. 

I saw Sir Henry twice that day and made him 
red hot. He was very indignant. He promised 
to take up the matter with Lord Kitchener him- 
self. 

I was fully cognizant of the dangerous nature 
of my procedure and made all preparations to 
leave England at a moment's notice. I notified 
Captain Kenny, by letter, of my visits to Sir 
Henry. 

Late at night, on January 13, Sir Henry rang 
me up to say that he had a message from the 
War Office ^^that the matter is having most urgent 
consideration." 

I received two letters, one from Captain Kenny, 
and the other from *^C,'* complaining that the 



270 Revelations of an International Spy 

secret codes I had furnished did not ''fit" any of 
the messages ''caughf by the British, and criti- 
cizing* me for communicating with Sir Henry. 

On the following afternoon I again saw Sir 
Henry at the Hotel Cecil. That night I did not 
go home to sleep but went to a hotel under an 
assumed name, as I expected anything to happen. 

Next day at 1 o'clock I had another interview 
with Sir Henry and I learned from him that I was 
to receive a summons from the War Office that 
day. I gathered from him that there was as yet 
no suspicion about me. I waited till 4 o'clock — 
no news from the War Office. I then decided — 
with the previous approval and knowledge of Sir 
Henry — ^upon a supremely courageous step. 

I went to the Admiralty and asked to see Mr. 
Winston Churchill. I was taken at once to his 
quarters, and he sent out his principal private 
secretary (Mr. Marsh) to tell me that he was too 
busy; would I tell his secretary what I came to 
see him about. 

I handed a long typewritten statement to Mr. 
Marsh, addressed to Mr. Churchill, complaining 
bitterly about the delay in my case. Mr. Marsh, 
after reading the document, left me, as he ex- 
plained, for a few minutes. I was left there in his 
room and felt as though I were in the very lion's 
den. I did not know what might happen the next 
minute. 



The Dangerous Ruse 271 

Mr. Marsh returned about fifteen minutes later 
and had me conducted to the director of naval in- 
telligence. This post is one of the most important 
of the Admiralty and is, as a rule, a stepping stone 
to the First Sea Lordship. Lord Fisher and Ad- 
miral Prince Louis of Battenberg were directors 
of naval intelligence before becoming First Sea 
Lords. 

I was very well received. The Director, of 
course, knew everything. During a conversation 
lasting more than an hour, I was led to understand 
that nothing had yet been done except to send a 
letter to Holland pretending to come from me, tell- 
ing the German Consul that I was laid up with 
pneumonia and consequently **I'' must ask him 
(the Consul) to be patient for a while. 

I clearly saw that as yet they did not suspect me 
and that nothing had yet been found out. So I 
decided to wait a few days but to be on guard in 
case they should meanwhile either do something 
against me or the Germans. 

I waited six days and, not having word from any 
one, on January 21, I went up to the "War Office 
and saw Captain Kenny, who asked me to come 
and see him next day between eleven and twelve. 
Accordingly, I called at the War Office on January 
22. Captain Kenny definitely promised to write 
to me within two days. ** Within two days" 



272 Revelations of an International Spy 

sounded just a trifle too definite not to arouse in 
me a suspicion tliat something was going on. All 
this time I kept in touch with Sir Henry. 

On January 25, 1 received a letter from Captain 
Kenny notifying me that my case had passed out 
of the jurisdiction of the War Office, and asking 
me to communicate with the Admiralty where I 
was expected. The tone of this letter was differ- 
ent from the preceding ones. 

Immediately after the receipt of this note I went 
up to the Admiralty, where I had a long talk with 
the Director. It was evident, from this conversa- 
tion, that things were not proceeding according to 
my wish or in my favor, and I then decided to leave 
for New York by the first American liner sailing. 
This was on a Monday. There was no boat avail- 
able before Saturday, hence I had to put them off 
for a while. This I succeeded in doing by ham- 
mering at them for recognition through Sir Henry 
and by addressing a letter to Mr. Churchill. On 
January 27, 1 received a reply, referring me to the 
Director and then came this official telegram: 

** Lincoln, 51 Torrington Sq., W. 
** Please call and bring your passport. Direc- 
tor of Intelligence. ' ' 

I was puzzled by the request to bring my pass- 
port with me. As it turned out, it was a trap. 






y is 

1 I 




.i 




"^ 







O QJ 
O c« 



z-5 



The Dangerous Ruse 273 

I called upon the Director of Intelligence. Be- 
fore I was taken into his room and after my ar- 
rival had been annomiced to him, I saw two gen- 
tlemen being let into his room. I may remark 
that at my interviews with the Director, Lieuten- 
ant Herschell, R. N., was always present. When 
I entered this room I surmised at once that some- 
thing had gone wrong. In addition to Lieutenant 
Herschell, as usual in his uniform, two gentlemen 
in civil attire were present. One of them was pre- 
tending to be busy with some books; the other, 
with his face turned away, pretended not to be 
interested in the conversation at all, though fur- 
tively taking shorthand notes. 

Captain Hall, the Director, put an innocent- 
looking question to me. This showed me that the 
game was up. I expected to be arrested at once. 
Indeed, I cannot understand even now why they 
did not arrest me. However, I kept up the play 
and finally after a clever tactical conversation, left 
the room unmolested. They let me go, thinking 
that they had me in any case due to the fact that 
all passports in circulation were declared void. 
Indeed Captain Hall, who at first wanted to keep 
my passport, returned it to me with the ironical 
remark: **Ail right, you can have it back, it is 
only valid two more days.^' (The decree above 
referred to demanded new passports from the 
first of February.) In order to be able to flee I 



274 Revelations of an International Spy 

** played'^ information into their hands that I 
would try to escape to Holland. 

Next morning I left London and sailed on the 
steamer Philadelphia the following day, January 
30th, for New York, where I arrived on February 
9th, and at once got in touch with a certain Ger- 
man. Through him I got my cable to Berlin past 
the English censor without delay. Before leav- 
ing London I sent a note by circuitous route to 
the German Consul at Eotterdam, telling him in 
a prearranged code of all that had happened and 
advising him immediately to take the necessary 
steps. 

In spite of the failure of my chief plans I dis- 
covered during my dallying with the War Office 
some plans of tremendous moment to the German 
Intelligence Department. Through some inad- 
vertences of Captain Kenny's, I learned that the 
Secret Service of England was then considering 
and elaborating a plan to blow up all the railway 
bridges and important railway stations of the 
Ehine by sending into Germany emissaries with 
false passports. I also discovered that there were 
Eussian Secret Service men at this time in Lon- 
don, who held daily conferences at the War Office 
with Captain Kenny and the two colonels, devis- 
ing a plan of military espionage in Germany. 
There was a naturalized American citizen (native 
of Holland) in London, holding the temporary 



The Dangerous Ruse 275 

rank of Lieutenant in one of the Indian regiments. 
He was for a while in Marseilles and afterwards 
in one of the Indian troop camps near Orleans — 
but was on furlough in England. It was decided 
to send him into Germany. He was to go first to 
Holland and make the necessary arrangements to 
enable him to travel in Germany as a Dutch com- 
mercial agent and so organize a thorough system 
of espionage there. My warnings to Berlin soon 
made this plan ineffectual. I also obtained ac- 
curate information about the mobilization of 
Kitchener's army and forwarded it to Germany. 
This was of great value to the General Staff, for 
in spite of the activities of their spies in England 
they had but meager knowledge of the new armies. 
Having escaped from the admiralty detectives 
by a mere chance, you can imagine my mingled 
emotions when I read in a New York morning pa- 
per two months later this paragraph : 

CODE OF SPY USED TO SPY ON GERMANS 

British Correspond with Kaiser's Workers Under 
Name of Kuepferle, a Prisoner 

LONDON, April 19.— Anton Kuep- 
ferle, the American citizen of German 
birth, who hails from Brooklyn, and is 
held for trial on a charge of supplying 
Germany with information concerning 
the movements of British troops and 
ships, is said to have been the means of 
affording British detectives much inside 
information concerning the workings of 
the German spy system, with headquar- 
ters in Holland. 



276 Revelations of an International Spy 

Kuepferle's arrest was kept a secret 
for nearly two months. Meantime it is' 
reported that Scotland Yard men were 
using the prisoner's name as a means of 
communicating with German officials in. 
Holland. In Kuepferle's baggage sheets 
of paper for use with invisible ink were 
found. Imitating Kuepferle's handwrit- 
ing, the detectives are said to have writ- 
ten letters to German spy chiefs, be- 
tween the lines of which they traced in 
invisible ink all sorts of questions ask- 
ing further instructions. A rapid fire 
correspondence is reported to have con- 
tinued until Kuepferle had actually 
been in jail for many weeks. 

A plain recital of facts like a police inspector's 
notes, yet of personal and moving interest to me ! 
There is, however, dramatic surprise in the report 
lying hidden in the statement that Scotland Yard 
actually did correspond with German officials in 
Holland in the name of Kuepferle — unknown to 
the German Secret Service, This is indeed inter- 
esting. The climax, however, is to be found in 
the facts that the German Secret Service hneiv that 
Kuepferle's alleged reports came from Scotland 
Yard and the requested instructions they ostensi- 
bly sent to Kuepferle were indeed meant to mis- 
lead the British officials. 

As for my old friend Captain Hall of the Intelli- 
gence Department, I only wish I could witness his 
chagrin when he reads this narrative of one of the 
chief actors in this drama of plot and counterplot. 
Only now will he understand why his ^' dummy'' 



The Dangerous Ruse 277 

messages in the name of poor Kuepferle were 
taken at their true value and the replies he got 
were fashioned by keener wits at Wilhelmstrasse. 



CHAPTER VIII 

SPYING AND COUNTER-SPYING THE SINISTER 

FOUNDATION OF SECRET DIPLOMACY 



I 



* * "^ HAVE just spent some weeks in England 
going over the ground which in case of 
invasion is assigned to me.*' Thus spoke 
to me an officer of the German army, in 1911, on 
the Dover-Ostend boat, both of us reclining on the 
deck chairs, on a superb July day. We were 
basking in the sun. I was reading a German book, 
and he, noticing it, soon drew me into conversa- 
tion. Our conversation soon drifted on to the 
Morocco crisis, particularly the Agadir incident. 
* * Sir Edward Grey is pursuing a wrong policy, ' ' 
I urged. ** Instead of paying such a tremendous 
price for Russia's adherence to his anti-German 
policy, as he did by the Anglo-Russian Treaty of 
1907, he ought to have satisfied Germany's legiti- 
mate aspirations by agreeing to the sale of the 
Portuguese colonies to her — we would have had 
peace in Europe instead of this continual tension. ' ' 
This my opinion, frankly stated, greatly inter- 
<ested him, and soon he knew that I had been an 

278 




"^^^ 






^-t^ 



f7/r 









^/(Mc^i^^^ 



1. I J /x^i^ ^-"^ ^ I 



A Letter from the Naval Intelligence Department of the Admiralty 
that Aroused Mr. Lincoln's Suspicions. 



Spying and Counter-Spying 27^ 

M.P., disclosing, in his turn, that he was an officer 
of the Great General Staff of Germany. He was 
greatly surprised at my detailed knowledge of 
Germany's war readiness in 1905 and 1906 and 
again in July of that year (1911), and looked at 
me with a mingled look of amazement and interro- 
gation when I remarked that all along the Rhine 
locomotives were collected at strategical centers 
with steam up day and night, and that a vast ag- 
gregation of rolling stock was ready for the 
troops concentrated there should England and 
France force Germany into war over the Morocco 
affair. 

England was also ready. The expeditionary 
force was ready on the east coast and in Alder- 
shot, ready to embark at a moment's notice. **I 
know," he said, and did not ask me any more 
questions. He had gone over his section in Eng- 
land in a touring car to see whether any new 
buildings had been erected, and whether bridges 
had been strengthened, and so forth, but chiefly to 
keep his local knowledge of his section up-to-date 
and fresh. This is but an illustration of the thor- 
oughness of the German spy system. 

ORGANIZATION OF SPY SYSTEMS 

Much has been written of late of the organiza- 
tion and activity of Continental spy systems, but 
all these descriptions are fragmentary, many even 



2 so Revelations of an International Spy 

confused and confusing. The arrest and execu- 
tion of Kuepferle, Lody, Rosenthal — German spies 
in England — the unexplained blowing-up of the 
battleship Buhvark, the oft-repeated stories of sig- 
nalings from the east coast of England, and many 
other incidents have not only contributed little to 
the exact knowledge that the man in the street has 
of espionage, but have, on the contrary, en- 
shrouded its workings with greater and deeper 
mystery. 

People with an inventive turn of mind, or with 
an alert imagination, seized this favorable oppor- 
tunity and regaled the public with fictitious de- 
scriptions of spy systems, which were eagerly read 
and readily believed. In the mind of the average 
person, spying has become a kind of mythical 
organization, working furtively and with great 
dramatic effect. Nothing could be further from 
/ the truth. I On the contrary, it is a most matter-of- 
f fact organization, sober, methodical, working with 
great deliberation and unusual thoroughness. 
The Japanese, for instance, have a wonderful 
espionage system, which in some respects is even 
superior to the German. 
/ In the Russo-Japanese War they had a paid 
/ agent in the Russian headquarters — a staff officer 
— who by relays of messengers kept them in- 
/ formed of all decisions taken or moves contem- 
/ plated. It was only after the battle of Mukden 



Spying and Counter- Spying 281 

/ that this was found out. The officer in question 
/ was, of course, shot. 

But in regard to organization, none can be 
I compared with the German. The German espi- 
I onage system is the only one which has a peace 
I establishment which in times of war expands into 
a war establishment. This is the great distin- 
guishing feature of the German Secret Service. 
When the army is mobilized, the espionage is also 
mobilized in the strictest sense of the word. This 
mobilization takes place according to a well-pre- 
pared plan in which each agent has his or her 
preappointed place and duty. Schemes long ago 
prepared are put into execution. ] An agent who, 
for instance, for years was doing porter's work 
at the railway station at Ostend (Belgium) is re- 
called, meets certain troops, and leads them in 
their advance, having a thorough knowledge not 
only of Ostend but of the whole neighborhood 
which he minutely studied on his bicycle rides into 
the country on his * ' off days. ' ' 

Military or naval attaches must be very cir- 
cumspect, for if their espionage is revealed the 
Government must take official cognizance. This 
recall, if found out, cannot be evaded. For years 
there was no German military attache in Paris 

because Col. S was deeply involved in high 

espionage. Indeed, I call the military and naval 
attaches ** privileged spies,'* for they cannot be 



282 Revelations of an International Spy 

called to book, no matter how much they are com- 
promised. A few years ago Colonel Zubovits, 
the Eussian Military Attache in Vienna, had to 
[ leave Vienna on six hours' intimation that the 
I climate of Vienna did not suit his health. He 
had carried on from the Embassy a vast scheme 
of military espionage. But as a rule, attaches 
take care not to be identified with any espionage. 
/ In times of peace there are itinerary spies em- 
ployed by the Germans and Japanese more sys- 
tematically than by any other government. The 
Eussian and English, too, send spies into a for- 
eign country to spy upon some definite object, say 
the defenses of Wilhelmshaven, or the distribu- 
tion of troops in South Hungary and Bosnia at a 
given time. IBut only the Japanese and the Ger- 
mans carry on spying in times of peace as an art 
and science.? 

Each spy unit works unknown to the other. 



The duty of some spies is to acquire topographic 
knowledge of certain well-defined localities, of 
roads, schools, other public buildings, hospitals, 
factories, dockyards; others to obtain drawings 
of forts, guns, battleships ; others to obtain exact 
data as to quantity of food provisions obtainable 
in a given neighborhood during different seasons ; 
draught animals, cattle, sheep, other live stock, 
etc., etc. Others, as teachers of music or lan- 
guages or governesses or butlers or gardeners, 



Spying and Counter' Spying 283 

reside for months or years in a foreign country 
and acquire an inner knowledge of its internal ad- 
ministration, party politics, and obtain the con- 
tents of important documents. 

MOBILIZATION 

Now, when war breaks out all these thousands 
of agents are mobilized. They get a code tele- 
gram; they know what it means. It is all re- 
arranged. Kuepferle, for instance, goes to Lon- 
don. Another goes to Chile, to keep track of 
British war and merchant ships. Others go to 
Canada to watch the training or sending of 
troops. Indeed, they travel with them as sailors 
on the boat, or as Eed Cross men or as Red Cross 
nurses. Others hurry to the United States to 
watch and report shipments of ammunitions and 
other merchandise to enemy countries. The whole 
is a wonderful piece of organization, thoroughly 
prepared in advance. Those who have resided 
for years in Belgium or France or England or 
Russia hurry home, join certain army troops, or 
Zeppelins, as guides. This knowledge, carefully 
tabulated and filed away at Berlin, extends to the 
most minute matters. 

I know, for instance, that the Great German 
General Staff as well as the Japanese General 
Staff is informed exactly from what hill or ele- 
vation New York, Galveston, Baltimore, or Bos- 



284 Revelations of an International Spy 

ton, etc., can be effectually bombarded. The 
ranges, distances, are all measured and prepared. 
This knowledge embraces every important city of 
strategical or tactical importance in any country 
of the world. As a high German officer once re- 
marked to me : 

**We may never land in San Francisco, indeed 
the probabilities are we never will, but yet we 
have got the range of all important government 
buildings there. As soon as the caliber, velocity, 
and range of our field or siege guns is increased, 
the information is brought up to date. 

*^ Moreover, any railway that is built in any 
part of the world is carefully noted and studied 
from various points of view — weight of rail and 
nature of permanent way — in order to know what 
amount and weight of traffic it will handle during 
a given time ; also quantity and quality of rolling 
stock required for the transportation of troops 
and war material devised for that particular sec- 
tion. Bridges are very carefully studied. You 
know in England there are a great number of 
old stone bridges. We know every one of them 
and know what amount of traffic they will stand. 
Now, when we invade England, we shall take with 
us not only pontoons to cross rivers but bridge ma- 
terial which is all ready in sections, numbered, 
booked away, so to speak, for a specific object in 
a known locality. ' ' 



Spying and Counter- Spying 285 

^' Don't you think, Colonel, '^ I said, **that much 
of this information is, or rather will ever remain, 
useless? What is the use of collecting, studying, 
filing away of things into elaborate war plans, 
minute information which you never may use!" 

**Why not! — it may be useful to potential al- 
lies,'' was his significant reply. 

In the War Office in London, I found a verifi- 
cation of this. In many of the secret offices in the 
War Office, I saw high filing cabinets, more like 
chests of drawers, of quite enormous length. 
The legend on them runs as follows: **Hankau 
Peking Kailway," or ' ' Tashkent-Tiflis Kailway," 
or ** Kabul-Herat Road," or *^Liao-Tang, Penin- 
sular Railway," etc., etc. There were a goodly 
number of these huge drawers. My curiosity 
was aroused and I asked Captain Kenny of 
the M. 0. 5 J. (Military Counter-Espionage) what 
they were. He told me as far as Manchuria, 
China or Mongolia were concerned they got their 
information from the Japanese Secret Service, 
**who know everything," as he said. ( Yet even 
he admitted that no Secret Service in the world 
had so complete a knowledge of all countries as 
the Germans. 

GERMANY'S MISTAKES 

This brings me to the consideration of a point 
which will, I am sure, come as a great surprise to 



286 Revelations of an International Spy 

many a reader. The Germans know all mechani- 
cal, topographical, military, or naval secrets, but 
their system entirely fails in the personal ele- 
ment, the personal factor. Their own system, I 
mean their Secret Service, is over-organized.\ 
Very little scope is left to individual enterprise 
or initiative; everything goes, as it were, by 
pressing a button. It is a thoroughly organ- 
ized machine, but it is a machine. I will give 
two illustrations from my own personal knowl- 
edge. 

*^You have made a great blunder by invading 
Belgium, from a diplomatic point of view,*' ^ said 
I to Legationsrath Consul Gneist at Eotterdam, 
and to Lieut.-Colonel von Ostertag, German Mili- 
tary Attache at The Hague (formerly in London), 
and to a member of the German Embassy in 
Washington, whom I met in New York, soon after 
my arrival in New York. 

The faint, half-heartened contradiction to my 
drastic statement clearly showed me that in their 
hearts they did agree with me. 

'^You would have prevented England joining 
the war — at any rate for several months," I re- 
marked. 

* * No, Mr. Linclon, we know that Grey meant to 
war upon us. Indeed, this was one of the reasons 
why we invaded Belgium, '* they all replied. 

1 See also pp. 200 and 201. 



Spying and Counter- Spying 287 

'*i was in the House of Commons on the 3rd 
and 4th of August, 1914, where as a former Mem- 
ber of Parliament I had the privilege of going 
into the inner lobby and the majority of the mem- 
bers I spoke to, and indeed the general opinion of 
the House and of the country, was that if Belgium 
is not invaded — Great Britain should not go to 
war. 

* * Now you knew that the Foreign Office had an- 
other policy, that at all costs to join France and 
Russia as they were conunitted by previous under- 
standings. The people of England, the Parlia- 
ment of England, yes, even the Cabinet of 
England, knew nothing of Grey's policy. Conse- 
quently when Grey asked you that fatal question, 
'Will you respect the neutrality of Belgium T you 
should have replied, 'Certainly, how can you ask 
such a thing? Have we not guaranteed it? Our 
word is our bond.' I can assure you the Parlia- 
ment of England would not have supported Grey. 
As it is. Lord Morley, John Bums, and Mr. 
Trevelyan resigned from the Government. Grey 
could not have gone on with his policy. ' ' ^ 

Why this lack of diplomatic finesse? Because 
the mill works with great precision, but does 
not see the human element. The future will re- 

1 Prince Lichnovsky offered to Grey to respect Belgium's neu- 
trality and not to attack France, but Grey refused. However, I 
still maintain if Germany had from the first made this clear 
Grey could not have plunged Great Britain into the war. 



288 Revelations of an International Spy 

veal the correctness of my statement, for it will 
be proved that Bethmann-Hollweg, the Imperial 
Chancellor, was emphatically against the invasion 
of Belgium, but was overruled by the military — 
the supreme power in Germany. 

There is nothing worth knowing about the naval 
and military establishments of England which the 
Germans did Hot know until the outbreak of war. 
But since then they have been singularly lacking 
in information about the number of recruits, the 
training camps, the transportation of troops to 
the Continent, their number there, their training 
camp there, and many other important details 
connected with Kitchener ^s army. This lapse is 
to be referred to the same blunder as the invasion 
of Belgium, ignoring the human equation. The 
war plan of the Great General Staff — prepared 
years ahead — ^provided for the invasion of Bel- 
gium for two reasons : 

1. Because Great Britain, to their knowledge, 
intended doing the same thing. 

2. It was easier and quicker to reach Paris via 
Liege than via Verdun — so they thought. As 
a matter of fact they could have reached Paris 
quicker via Verdun, as the French were hope- 
lessly disorganized and behind with their mobi- 
lization the first three weeks. Also they did not 
expect such a resistance from the Belgian army, 
a knowledge of which their secret service might 



Spying and Counter-Spying 289 

have forecasted. However, it was previously 
worked out, so it had to be executed. This is the 
military mind of precision and method. 

So with their failure to know things about 
Kitchener's army, they never expected, nor 
thought it possible, that Kitchener or anybody 
would raise such a large army in a trice — conse- 
quently they made no preparations to watch its 
coming into being, its organization, training, and 
transportation, j Once war breaks out it is diffi- 
cult to organize a comprehensive, unified spy 
system in an enemy's country. | The fate of Lody, 
Kuepferle, Hahn, Muller, Rosenthal, and my own 
experience amply testifies to this. 

Lieut.-Colonel von Ostertag, the Intelligence 
Office at Wesel, were very badly informed of 
Kitchener's army. Colonel von Ostertag has put 
forward every effort to gain information on this 
point. They were and are fairly well informed 
of the movements of the British fleet in ports, but 
much less when at sea. At the outbreak of the / 
war certain previously selected and appointed! 
agents were sent or assigned to Dublin, Belfast,] 
Glasgow, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Southampton, 
Dover, Harwich, and Tyne, and all along the east 
coast towns, and of course to London. These 
agents are Irishmen, Belgians, Dutchmen, Ameri- 
cans, Poles, Danes, etc. They are frequently / 
changed. They are not all sent from the same 



290 Revelations of an International Spy 

sectional headquarters and consequently they do 
not send their information to the same countries. 
Some came to England from the United States. 
Others came from Denmark, Norway, Holland, 
Belgium, France, South America, etc., and of 
course they send their information to different 
offices. These various offices have each other's 
code systems. 

When I arrived in New York, and desired to 
communicate to Berlin via Eotterdam that my 
scheme had miscarried, I went to a. certain office 
in New York City. I asked to see a certain 
party. When I was shown into his room, he 
naturally first of all wanted to know my identity, 
or rather, have proofs of any bona fides. When 
I told him I communicated to addresses through 
Eotterdam, he asked me : 

*'What codes did you use, to what addresses 
did you send your mail and cables f 

I gave him my three codes and the correspond- 
ing three addresses. He went up to his safe, 
opened a portfolio, took out some sheets of paper, 
looked them over, and said, **Yes, that is quite 
all right.'' 

My bona fides was thus proved to him beyond 

doubt. He then called in a higher official and 

they then immediately put me in touch with some 

one to whom I gave my report. 

I Another great fault of the German Secret 



Spying and Counter- Spying 291 

Service is that they pay by results, placing great 
temptation or rather compulsion in the way of, 
their agent to invent stories when they are unsuc- 
cessful. The English Secret Service, on the other 
hand, engage their agents on a fixed salary basis, 
which is paid to him whether he be successful or 
not. In addition to their regular army of agents, 
the Germans employ sometimes (but rarely) oc- 
casional spies for certain specific objects. Alike 
with the Eussians and Japanese, every German 
consul all over the world is at the same time a 
secret service agent as well.^ 

England is, however, not only thoroughly 
** worked'' at home; she is being spied upon from 
Holland, Norway, United States. This is the 
Counter-Espionage. To find out what the Eng- 
lish spies in those countries do, what shipments 
are made, and many other matters, the respective 
consulates in those countries look after this 
branch in close cooperation with the military and 
naval attaches. At the outbreak of war many 
spies were sent to England to blow up certain im- 
portant bridges, factories, shipyards, waterworks, 
etc., and it is only due to the prompt measures 
taken before the declaration of war that every at- 
tempt failed. But there were many attempts. 

1 In times of war, such as at present, every Consulate, Em- 
bassy or Legation of all the belligerents are centers of Secret 
Service activity. The English have at present more spies in this 
country than the Germans. 



292 Revelations of an International Spy 

The English have done or attempted to do all the 
same things in Germany. Indeed I know that 
plans were being elaborated for the blowing up 
of all the Khine bridges through spies, but I foiled 
this. 

COUNTER-ESPIONAGE 

The aim of the Counter-Espionage is to thwart 
the schemes and plots of Secret Service agents. 
It is a most elaborate system and absorbs quite 
as much money as the espionage itself. How 
effective the whole system is may be judged by an 
interview I had with Mr. McKenna, then First 
Lord of the Admiralty, in January, 1910 : 

After my election to the House of Commons in 
January, 1910, 1 paid a visit to my native country 
and was quite royally received in Budapest. 
While there I came into possession of a very valu- 
able secret process which I thought would greatly 
aid the British navy. The man in possession of 
the secret only gave me sufficient details to be able 
to form a judgment on its merits. I immediately 
wrote to McKenna and told him that the man was 
willing to accompany me to London and place all 
the facts before him. The price he asked was 
$5,000,000 (£1,000,000). Mr. McKenna wired me 
to bring the man along. 

In the afternoon at 3 p. m. of our arrival in Lon- 



Spying and Counter- Spying 293 

don, I saw Mr. McKenna by appointment. The 
man I brought with me from Budapest had to wait 
in the waiting-room, which had three bare walls, 
the window being on the fourth wall opposite the 
door and looking down on St. James Park. It is 
important to bear this in mind to appreciate the 
full significance of what will follow later. Being 
shown to Mr. McKenna 's private room, I, in reply 
to a query of his, explained to him the nature of 
the secret and added : 

* * The man wants £1,000,000, but for this amount 
the British Admiralty shall be the sole possessor 
of the secret.'' 

Mr. McKenna smilingly replied: 

**We never give any large amount of money for/ 
secrets, for I know within a fortnight of any 
secret, invention, or process of any navy in the 
world, and I must necessarily assume this to be 
the case with your secret. ' ' i 

This statement reveals the astonishing charac- 
ter of Secret Service plotting and counter plot- 
ting. 

Towards the close of our conversation a gentle- 
man came in, drew Mr. McKenna into a far cor- 
ner of his very spacious room, and whispered 
something into his ears — and then left. 

When bidding good-by to Mr. McKenna, he thus 
addressed me : 



294 Revelations of an International Spy 

*^Will you please ask the man in the waiting- 
room to return all the Admiralty note-paper he 
filled his pockets withT' 

I rushed into the waiting-room and remon- 
strated with the man for having thus abused 
my chaperonage of him. He turned as white as 
snow and stammered out a few incoherent re- 
marks. 

**I can't understand . . . I . . . there was no- 
body in the room ... I thought there was no 
harm . . . seeing it is placed here in the waiting- 
room . . . eh." 

Those of the readers who have ever had occa- 
sion to call at any of the government offices in 
London were certainly astonished at the long 
waiting in a waiting-room and at the presence of 
an abundant supply of note-paper with the royal 
arms impressed on it. 

Now they understand ! 

As a general rule actual espionage is much more 
elaborate during times of peace, whilst in times 
of war, like at present, the Counter-Espionage is 
even more important than actual espionage. 

There is a Counter-Espionage Division (M. 
0. 5 J.), both at the War Office and at the Ad- 
miralty. It must, however, not be presumed that 
the two work independently of one another. On 
the contrary ; indeed the military division is quasi 
under the supervision of the naval one. The 



Spying and Counter- Spying 295 

funds for both are supplied by the Foreign Office, 
which gets a vote annually from Parliament for 
Secret Service, amounting to £65,000. This is a 
very small amount compared with the huge 
amounts spent by Japan, Eussia, or Germany. 
But then it must be pointed out that Great Britain 
has many voluntary workers, which is not the 
case with the other powers. Some of the most 
valuable information, such as the defenses of 
Borkum and other Frisian Islands, sectional 
drawings of the new naval gun of Germany, and 
many other pieces of secret data were obtained 
for Great Britain through the efforts of voluntary 
workers. 

I need only refer to General Baden-PowelPs 
book *^My Adventures as a Spy,'' and to Captain 
Trench and Brandon, who, however, were caught 
by the Germans and imprisoned. But before they 
were caught they obtained and sent very valuable 
information to England. Capt. P. W. Kenny, at 
present the active chief of the M. 0. 5 J., as well 
as his brother, have been on secret service in Ger- 
many. Of the £65,000, only £20,000 were allotted 
to the War Office during the years prior to the 
war, which, as Captain Kenny remarked to me, 
*• ' greatly handicapped our work. Though since the 
war we have all the money we want. ' ' 

When the War Office wants money they apply to 
Captain ^ * C of the Admiralty, who on every first 



296 Revelations of an International Spy 

Tuesday of the month obtains funds from the For- 
eign Office. 

Prior to the war the Counter-Espionage in Lon- 
don restricted its activity to the opening of the 
correspondence of suspected persons and their 
shadowing. A classical example in this connec- 
tion was furnished by the arrest in London of Mr. 
I Ernestj a German barber, and three others on the 
I day of the declaration of war and whose corre- 
al spondence were read during two full years. Mr. 
Ernest, for a bagatelle of 20 marks ($5.00) a 
month, which later was increased to 30 marks 
($7.50) a month, received and forwarded mail be- 
tween the chief of the German Secret Service in 
Charlottenburg and his agents in England, un- 
suspecting that all the letters he sent or received 
through Mr. Ernest were being read during two 
full years by the Counter-Espionage in London. 

Through the reading of these letters four Ger- 
man spies were arrested and imprisoned in Lon- 
don on the day of the declaration of war; and 
three during 1912, the one a teacher of languages 
in Eochester, adjoining Chatham where the royal 
dockyards are, and a man and woman at Charing 
Cross station, just departing for Ostend with im- 
portant plans and drawings. 

When war broke out the Counter-Espionage 
was totally unprepared and unorganized for the 
enormous task it had to face. The Germans not 



Spying and Counter- Spying 297 

only had quite a few spies in England perma- 
nently, others temporarily on *^ special duty'' in 
the years prior to the war, but when Austria de- 
livered her ultimatum to Servia, Germany's Se- 
cret Service was mobilized. I am using this word 
in its truest application. Many of Germany's 
agents in France, Belgium, Great Britain, Eussia, 
and Poland, who have resided in those respective 
countries for years, were recalled to act as guides, 
etc., to the invading army; but others from Ger- 
many, Holland, Norway, and the United States 
were sent out on their duties, some to Eussia 
(Slavs, Poles), to France, others (mostly Alsa- 
tians), to Great Britain (mostly Belgians), and 
United States naturalized citizens, such as Kuep- 
ferle. In exceptional cases Germans having had 
special qualifications, were sent to England on 
special missions, with fraudulent passports, of 
course.^ 

The Counter-Espionage in England was totally 
unprepared to deal with the situation and the 
greatest blunders were committed. When the 
Belgians fled before the invader and sought refuge 
in England, scores, yea, hundreds of German 
spies (Belgians) were shipped across the Straits 
of Dover by the methodical Germans as * ' Belgian 
refugees." 

1 The English, too, have a section doing nothing but forging 
passports, post marks, letters, documents, etc. 



298 Revelations of an International Spy 

For several weeks they went about their work 
unsuspected, sending plain language code mes- 
sages to Belgium and Holland about the troops 
in their respective localities, the presence of war 
ships, etc. 

The coast of England was, of course, guarded 
by patrols, and how ineffectually is proved by 
the following event. One of the ** Belgian refu- 
gees ' ' was installed comfortably in Margate, from 
whence he took walks and drives along the coast 
both during the day and in the evening accompa- 
nied by an English girl whose acquaintance he 
cultivated in order to serve as a shield. One 
Sunday evening he proposed to the English girl 
with whom he had become acquainted that they 
should motor to Dover (only a few miles away), 
which the girl gladly accepted, not finding it 
strange that a refugee should have money enough 
to spare for motoring excursions. From Dover 
they drove on to Folkestone. There they were 
stopped by a sentry. The sentry was satisfied 
with the spy's explanation, confirmed by the girl, 
that he was a * * Belgian refugee ' ' who had escaped 
from the barbarous Germans. He also produced 
a meaningless card with a lot of stamps, seals, and 
his photograph on it, dated at Brussels and 
printed in French. 

The spy apparently was a fellow with a pretty 
sense of humor for he actually reprimanded the 



Spying and Counter-Spying 299 

sentry for taking the examination so lightly, as 
there were many German spies among the Bel- 
gian refugees. The sentry jabbered a few words 
in his defense, that "he would easily detect them^* 
and so on. 

As a result of this ruse several weeks later, 
an order in council was promulgated prohibiting 
any foreigners or even Belgian refugees to live or 
stay in any coastal towns or other prohibited 
areas. 

I recite this merely as an instance to show how 
hopelessly inadequate were the means adapted by 
the English Counter-Espionage. But with each 
month the system improved and a few months 
after the war the British Counter-Espionage had 
a fairly efficient staff in Holland, Norway, and 
thousands in the United States. 

In London itself the War Office organized a 
Counter-Espionage department under the very 
able leadership of Capt. P. W. Kenny and a Postal/ 
Censorship department under the control of 
Major Churchill. The Postal Censorship had 
nothing to do with the Post-Office. It was and is 
under the M. 0. 5 at the War Office, Major 
Churchill having under his personal control the 
correspondence of the prisoners of war, whilst 
Lieut.-Col. Bellamy has charge of all general cor- 
respondence. When the diplomatic situation to- 
ward the end of July became threatening, the 



300 Revelations of an International Spy 

British Government withheld all correspondence 
mailed in England to Germany or Austria-Hun- 
gary or arriving from those countries. 

Although Great Britain declared war on Ger- 
many on the 4th of August, 1914, 1 can affirm as a 
positive fact based on personal knowledge that, 
beginning with the 28th of July, much, whilst from 
the 30th of July all, correspondence as above de- 
scribed was kept back in London. Mail from 
Germany and Austria-Hungary to the United 
States and South America passing through Eng- 
land from the 24th of July was held up — we shall 
see presently why. 

During many years preceding the war the Home 
Office had a department at Scotland Yard opening 
correspondence of persons suspected of espion- 
age. But no systematic provision seems to have 
been in existence for the contingency of a war. 
Hence when war broke out the Counter-Espionage 
of the War Office hurriedly organized the Postal 
Censorship and installed the censors at the Mount 
Pleasant Sorting Post-Office, Major Ducrot being 
in actual charge. There were millions of letters, 
positively millions, accumulated by the time the 
censorship was organized, and hundreds of thou- 
sands pouring in daily. All the corridors of the 
floors where the censors were housed were 
blocked by thousands of mail bags. If the pro- 



Spying and Counter- Spying 301 

visions devised to deal with all this mail was in- 
adequate, the personnel was absolutely ridiculous. 
First, as to their number. There were sufficient 
censors for French and German correspondence, 
but totally inadequate for the Slavic languages. 
There was only one censor for the Scandinavian 
languages, one for Yiddish, though a sufficient 
number of naturalized British subjects were avail- 
able for any and all languages. As to their fit- 
ness, the blunders committed were really in- 
describable. 

There were, to my own knowledge, three Ger- 
man spies doing censor's work for the British 
War Office when I left London and during many 
months previous, as I learned. When one re- 
members the importance of the postal censors for 
the purposes of Counter-Espionage, of immediate 
reading of letters, of quick action being taken, no 
words can be too strong for the deplorable condi- 
tions existing in the Postal Censor's department 
during the early stages of the war. 

The card reproduced on the next page was 
given to me August, 1914, at the War Office, 
London. It secured for me admittance on the 
next day to the sacro sanctum of the Censor- 
ship Bureau. When you arrive at the War Of- 
fice, unless you have an appointment, you will 
not go further than the waiting-hall, whose every 



302 Revelations of an International Spy 







War 


Ofjice, 






Aug. 


17, 1914 


Admit 


hearer 


to the 




Censor 


Department. 




M. 0, 5 




Bellamy, \ 








Lieut.-Col. 



door is guarded by two stalwart policemen. So 
having an appointment, you sign a slip, giving 
the name of the officer you want to see, say, 
*'Capt. P. W. Kenny, M. 0. 5, by appointment,'' 
and then you have to sign it and give your full 
address. You are then taken up by a Boy Scout 
to the floor clerk, who takes charge of you and 
your slip. He takes in the slip to the officer con- 
cerned; meanwhile you have to wait under the 
vigilance of an usher. At last you are conducted 
into the inner recesses of the English Secret 
Service. Great Scott! What a difference be- 
tween the workshops of the German and English 
Secret Services ! The German office, the model of 
order, exactitude, cleanliness. 

The disorganization and muddle at M. 0. 5 
was such that many clerks and officers had to do 
their work — secret and confidential — in the War 
Office corridors, shielded only by a folding stand. 
How diiferent a German office! No overcrowd- 



Spying and Counter- Spying 303 

ing, everybody has his place, every officer his 
appointed room, every matter, department, or 
section is located somewhere, according to a 
methodical plan conducive to efficiency. 

Whether you entered the room of Captain 
Kenny, Captain Hall, Legationsrath Consul 
Gneist, or Colonel von Ostertag, you see nothing! 
No maps, codes, invisible inks, and other para- 
phernalia of espionage. 

\ Every time they leave their office, all slips and 
fragments of paper, blotting paper, are carefully 
collected and destroyed.^ / 

THE ROUTINE OF CENSORSHIP 

I started my work as Hungarian and Eumanian 
censor on the 18th of August. On arrival at the 
office. Major Ducrot introduced me to one of the 
superintendents, who handed me a large secret 
dossier, which I had to read and sign each page as 
read. Some of the contents I had to return imme- 
diately after it was read, while another part be- 
came my personal dossier, lying always in front 
of me. 

The dossier contained full instructions about 
codes, both cypher and plain language codes, used 
by spies, samples of spies' letters, and other gen- 

1 Tliis is important. M. Delcass^ when Foreign Minister of 
France, used to work at his desk till exhaustion, leaving the 
destruction of such papers to his usher, who sold them to secret 
agents. 



304 Revelations of an International Spy 

eral instructions on how to detect suspicious let- 
ters. In it were also various names, pseudo- 
nyms, aliases of German spies in England, the 
addresses they corresponded with, etc. This list 
was called the ** Black Lisf It contained the 
names, etc., of fifteen German spies who had been 
busy in England in the years preceding the war 
and whose correspondence, unknown to them, was 
opened by the British authorities, photographed, 
sealed, and then delivered. There was another 
longer one — in the sole possession of Major 
Ducrot. 

All letters handed to us were already opened. 
All matter dealt with had to be divided into four 
categories : First, correspondence which was ad- 
dressed, or came from, one of the persons on the 
Black List; or correspondence manifestly being 
written by a spy. A slip had to be attached to all 
such, marked urgent, and immediately handed to 
Major Ducrot, who sent them on to the War Office 
by special messengers. When the reader recalls 
that the mail in many cases was days, in some 
cases weeks, old, the ** urgency '^ was rather amus- 
ing. In the second category were placed those 
letters which were suspicious looking, but in which 
there was no definite or open mention of military 
or naval matters. These, too, had to be handled 
at once. In the third category were placed doubt- 
ful letters. In the fourth category were the 



Spying and Counter-Spying 305 

manifestly innocuous ones, which were passed by 
us to be sealed again. 

I have mentioned above that all mail matter 
passing through England from Germany or Aus- 
tria-Hungary to the United States and South 
America or on British vessels was held up a week 
or ten days before the actual declaration of war 
by England. Why? Hundreds of thousands of 
mobilization orders to German and Austro-Hun- 
garian reservists in England and on the whole 
continent of North and South America came into 
the hands of the Counter-Espionage by this sim- 
ple process. 

Needless to say, these mobilization orders never 
reached their destination. Each of us was pro- 
vided with a sheet of paper, giving every regi- 
ment of line, first and second reserve, Ersatzre- 
serve, also of infantry, cavalry, field artillery, 
garrison artillery, engineers, wireless section, 
telephone troops, etc., and all we had to do was to 
fill in the rubric *' place of mobilization,'' ^^date of 
presentation. ' ' 

Every evening the result of the day's work was 
cabled to the French and Eussian General Staff, 
who thereby knew exactly which troops and how 
many of them were mobilized against them. How 
much more valuable this information might have 
been had there been no avoidable delay! Take 
my own case. I started on the 18th of August 



306 Revelations of an International Spy 

and was positively overwhelmed with work. 
None of the mobilization orders coming from 
Hungary were then as yet dealt with! Yet war 
had been going on for close upon three weeks. 
And although I worked all day it took me a fort- 
night to dispose of the tremendous accumulation 
of mail. For be it remembered, I had to take the 
letters as they came to my hand and the detection 
of the spies through their correspondence was as 
important as the classification of the mobilization 
orders. 

As Major Ducrot remarked to me : 

'*We are doing here more useful work than a 
battalion of soldiers on the battlefield. ' ' 

There was another kind of work done in our 
section of the Counter-Espionage which throws a 
lurid light on the hidden motives for this war. 
The correspondence held up during the eight or 
ten days preceding the war and that illegally cap- 
tured from neutral vessels after the outbreak of 
the war (this was stopped by President Wilson's 
first note addressed to Great Britain although 
continued clandestinely), was for the most part 
genuine, bona-fide correspondence. 

There were letters from German and Austro- 
Hungarian manufacturers, exporters, banl^ers, 
etc., both to Americans and to English, but also 
from American firms to German and Austro-Hun- 
garian houses. Indeed, until President Wil- 



spying and Counter-Spying 307 

son's note stopped it, all neutral mail sueli as 
United States, Dutch, Italian, Danish, passed 
through our hands. 

Now all the information gleaned from this mass 
of valuable sources with exact data was care- 
fully collected and minutely tabulated, according 
to country, articles, prices, with cross references, 
and handed over to the Intelligence Department 
of the Board of Trade, who confidentially cir- 
cularized the trades concerned or interested in 
any particular trade or pursuit, with a view, as I 
was often told, to capture German and neutral 
trade. 

The Methods of Espionage 

The methods employed are manifold. Each 
accredited representative of a foreign nation may 
be termed a spy, with certain qualifications. No 
ambassador, minister, or military attache ever 
engages directly or openly in spy's work, and yet 
they all employ backstair methods to gain precise 
information on vital methods, such as secret nego- 
tiations between two or more governments or 
what is passing at the time of meeting of sover- 
eigns, etc., which may become inimical to the 
country they represent. The only exception to 
the above rule is furnished by the Eussian repre- 
sentatives, who do directly take a hand in all the 
plotting. 



/■ 



308 Revelations of an International Spy 

Ambassadors, ministers or military attaches or 
naval attaches, as a rule, work ^^underground/* 

It can be stated as a positive fact that all em- 
bassies or even important legations have their 
confidential informants in every capital.^ These 
informants in many cases are in the immediate 
entourage of the ruler. They do not do it for 
money, as a rule, except in Eussia. Indeed, very 
often, they do not know that they give information 
to another country. Ladies play a very impor- 
tant role in this sphere. The embassy keeps in 
close relation with a noted society beauty, who is 
amply provided with funds to keep a salon. They 
have liaisons with officials, indeed, with members 
of the Cabinet themselves, and obtain by finely 
spun intrigues, by the alluring and liberal display 
of their charms, many important state, i.e., diplo- 
matic, secrets. But they never have direct rela- 
tions with the embassy for whom they are ac- 
tive. 

Some years ago in Eome the young and beauti- 
ful widow of the multi-millionaire Von S 

moved to Eome to reside there, keeping up a huge 
and luxurious establishment, which became the 
rendezvous of statesmen and diplomatists. She 

1 1 could tell some interesting and sensational things of M. de 
Leval, the legal adviser of Mr, Brand Whitlock in Brussels. I 
know him and he knows me. He had very close connections with 
the British Legation in Brussels during many years. 



Spying and Counter- Spying 309 

then married the accredited representative of an- 
other country, Prince M. K. 

Every move, policy, or negotiation con- 
ducted or embarked upon was known to her and 
to the government she was working for, until 
through jealousy — the usual tale — the whole plot 
was discovered and suppressed, as many of the 
highest of the country would have been ruined 
by the sordid revelations. The consequences 
of this mistake were very drastic. Her husband 's 
government received a friendly hint from the 
Quirinal that his recall would be more than wel- 
come. 

Another source of the embassies is the abundant 
gossip of high society. It is astonishing how 
much **bad blood'' has been created between na- 
tions by information which is propagated by mere 
gossip. It is not generally known that the very 
strained relations that existed between Edward 
VII and the Kaiser — for years they were not on 
speaking terms — and which resulted in strained 
diplomatic relations and in the intensification of 
distrust and jealousy already existing, were in 
degree due to some remarks the Kaiser made to 
a small circle of intimate friends. 

The Kaiser was regarding his left hand, crip- 
pled by the English physician who attended his 
mother in confinement. 



310 Revelations of an International Spy 

*^ SieTiahenmeinenlinkenArmverstummeltydber 
sie sollen meinen rechten zu fuhlen hekommen!^' 

(<<They [the English] have crippled my left 
hand, but they shall feel my right!'') 

At another occasion when his nose was bleed- 
ing, he remarked: 

*^Gott sei Dank! Das war das letzte Tropfen 
englischen Blutes in mir!^^ 

(*' Thank God, this was the last drop of English 
blood in me/') 

Within a day or two Edward VII knew of these 
remarks, and they added but another welcome op- 
portunity to the English conspirators to drive 
Edward one step further in his anti-German 
policy already pursued. 

The most thorough and well informed of all 
military or naval secret services is the Japanese, 
next comes the German, then the Eussian, then 
the English, then the Austro-Hungarian, then the 
French. If I were asked pithily to characterize 
each, I would say. The Japanese get their infor- 
mation through the devotion of their agents; the 
Russians hy lavish distribution of money; the 
Germans through minute organization; the Eng- 
lish through the sportsman-like instinct of their 
agents (mostly officers); the Austro-Hungarians 
by a judicious but only half-successful mixture of 
the German and Russian systems; the French by 
daring and spirit of adventure. 



Spying and Counter-Spying 311 

I The biggest success the Russians have had 
during recent years was their employment of 
Colonel Redl of the Austrian army and head of 
the Austrian Counter-Espionage. Colonel Redl 
was during four years in the pay and service of 
Russians and betrayed to them not only plans of 
forts — so notably Przemysl, Cracow, etc., and 
plans of mobilization, but actually denounced to 
the Russians his own agents whom he sent to 
Russia. He was at last cornered in a Viennese 
hotel, where four staff officers of the Austrian 
army handed him a loaded revolver and gave him 
fifteen minutes to shoot himself, they meanwhile 
standing outside his door. 

The discovery of this plot necessitated the ex- 
penditure of millions of crowns for the hasty 
transformation of the Cracow and Przemysl forts 
and the working out of new mobilization plans. 
However, ambassadors and attaches devote their 
attention to specific objects and never do they 
(except Russia) directly take any part in this 
work. Indeed, they have no ^^ official cognizance*' 
of it. Consequently the finding out of Secret 
Service secrets, i.e., the names of the spies, the 
organization of the service, the methods adapted, 
the discovery of information sought, is performed 
by special agents. 

One of the most strictly guarded secrets of all 
espionage is the names and personalities of the 



312 Revelations of an International Spy 

heads of the service, and conversely one of the 
most sought for informations of the Connter-Es- 
pionage is precisely to obtain the names and 
photographs of the heads of the other countries' 
spy system. Indeed, it is one of the strict rules 
of all Secret Services that the heads very rarely, 
if ever, have any direct intercourse even with 
their o\vn agents. This rule is devised and en- 
forced in order to prevent a foreign country snap- 
shoting him. Once his name is known it is easy 
to shadow him until a favorable moment will en- 
able him to be snapshoted — and from this minute 
his usefulness is greatly diminished and in many 
directions made impossible. 

In Eotterdam, the English Consul General as 
well as the Vice-Consul complained to me that 
they were shadowed constantly by the German 
Counter-Espionage, while the German Consul in 
Eotterdam and Lieut.-Col. von Ostertag, the Ger- 
man Military Attache at The Hague, made the 
same complaint about the English Counter-Es- 
pionage. When Captain Kenny, the active head 
of the English Counter-Espionage and *^C,'' met 
me, we had our meeting in a taxicab, driving 
about the streets of London, with drawn, blinds, 
to prevent being snapshoted. It is, namely, some- 
times found necessary that one of the heads him- 
self go to a foreign country ; indeed, this ^*s part of 
their training before arriving at being chief. 



Spying and Counter- Spying 313 

Captain Kenny, the present head at the M. 0. 5 J., 
at the "War Office, London, spent many years in 
Holland and particularly in Germany as a music 
teacher. But as he remarked to me : 

**I shall never be able to return to Germany, as 
I was careless enough to allow myself to be seen 
by German agents.'* 

Often, indeed, the Counter-Espionage of one 
country sends its emissaries to another country 
that they should offer themselves as spies to that 
country. Whether they be accepted or not, is 
immaterial. The main thing is that they shall 
find out who the chiefs are and from very little 
data under their notice, they shall be able to ** in- 
fer'' the ** system" adapted as well. 

A case in point. A Major von der Goltz came 
to London from the United States in October last, 
pretending that he was a naturalized American 
living in Mexico. He succeeded in establishing a 
connection with Captain Kenny, offering his 
services as a spy. But diligent search revealed 
his identity — and was put under lock and key and 
will remain there for some time to come. 

In addition to emissaries, each Espionage seeks 
to enlist natives of the country as agents. The 
Germans have many Irishmen working for them 
in Great Britain. Subjects of neutral countries 
are very much used. When I was in the Censor's 
Department in London, we discovered, as will be 



314 Revelations of an International Spy 

shown later, two Hungarians who have been Ger- 
man spies in England, the one was arrested, the 
other escaped through the blunders of the Eng- 
lish. 

Another rule of the Secret Service is that their 
agents operating in foreign countries should not 
kuow each other, if possible have no complete in- 
formation about each other. Every one is pro- 
vided with a code and other means which enable 
him to communicate with his chief. In times of 
peace very few telegrams are sent, only occasion- 
ally, to notify the chief of change of address, or 
want of money, or for some urgent, reason. In 
times of war, however, telegrams and cables for 
the transmission of messages are extensively used. 
Needless to say, to pass the censor they must be 
plain-language codes. 

Poor Lody gave his life for a message of the 
most trivial nature. Just at the time when he 
was in Scotland, the passing through Scotland 
and England of those *^ phantom'' Eussian armies 
was talked of and believed by every one. He sent 
a message to a neutral country, telling of this 
expedition with pretended satisfaction, predict- 
ing in consequence with evident glee the rout- 
ing of the Germans. This message directed at- 
tention to him. He was being watched and 
shadowed and a clever trap set for him, in which 



Spying and Counter-Spying 315 

lie was caught. He paid with his life for his dar- 
ing devotion to his country's call. 

Another means of finding out important naval 
and military secrets is by the use of ''dummy'' 
prisoners of war. After the naval battle in the 
Bight of Heligoland many naval prisoners were 
brought to England by the British fleet. A day or 
two afterwards a batch of other German prison- 
ers, taken at some other time and place, were 
moved amongst the Heligoland prisoners, but 
with them several Counter-Espionage agents, who 
spoke German or Hungarian like natives were 
smuggled in amongst them. They pretended to 
be reservists and to have been taken prisoners on 
an ocean liner on their way to Eotterdam to join 
their regiments. They were treated and lived ex- 
actly like the other prisoners of war. But they 
found out very important things, such as the lo- 
cation of the mine fields, how many battleships 
are in actual commission, how many are in repair, 
fortifications of Cuxhaven, etc. 

After a lapse of time a batch of the prisoners 
was moved to some other town in order to provide 
a convenient mode of smuggling these Counter- 
Espionage agents away, to be sent to a newly 
arrived crowd of prisoners elsewhere. 

Agents on special missions, are cautioned not 
to cross the frontiers. The disregarding of this 



316 Revelations of an International Spy 

instruction landed Mr. Stewart, the London solici- 
tor, in a German fortress prison, from which he 
was liberated by the Kaiser on the occasion of 
King George and Queen Mary's visit to Berlin. 

At the time of his arrest both Stewart and the 
British Government disclaimed that he was a spy, 
but he was none the less. He was sent to Holland 
to obtain plans of fortifications and other data 
about Germany's North Sea coast and was es- 
pecially cautioned in writing under no circum- 
stances to cross into Germany. 

The German Counter-Espionage knew of Stew- 
art's plot, a German counter spy got into touch 
with him in Holland, gave him or obtained for 
him *'bait" information, cleverly lured him to 
Bremen, where at eleven o'clock at night he was 
to be given the promised plans against the agreed 
payment. But in the afternoon Stewart was ar- 
rested and the Germans found on him written 
instructions from the British Admiralty. Six 
years in a fortress prison was his sentence. 

*^ Stewart was a fool," said to me Captain 
Kenny, when once discussing with him past rem- 
iniscences, to which I replied: 

* * The fools were they who employed a man like 
Stewart as a spy." 

I knew Stewart very well, having had occasion 
in 1910 to come up against him in a matter relat- 
ing to Austria, and I must confess I absolutely 



Spying and Counter- Spying 317 

played with him to my hearths content and suc- 
cessfully shattered all his machinations. He is 
dead, having died in France, but a certain Mr. 

R , who was allied with him against me, will 

know, if reading this, to what I refer. 

I must now give some examples of the wonder- 
ful organization, forethought and ramification of 
the German Secret Service. I (and all of us) in 
the Censor's Department had a ** Black List,'' 
containing the names of German spies and ad- 
dresses in Germany and neutral countries to 
which they mailed their information, as I have 
before related. 

One day towards the end of August, 1914, when 
reading and examining the letters on my desk, I 
picked up an envelope which bore the following 
address : 

X. B. 21— Tr. 

Berlin 
Poste-Restante 

or some similar letters. It was posted in Edin- 
burgh on the 28th of July, six days before the 
declaration of war, and contained a four-page 
letter without address. It was addressed to 
**Dear Camilla" and signed **Vilmos" and was 
written in Hungarian. 

It was a most remarkable letter. Although it 
was written in colloquial Hungarian, occupying 



818 llcvclations of an International Spy 

four pages it did not contain any consecutive 
thought or subject, except that furniture and fur- 
nishing and house and rooms appeared in it too 
often without any reference to the contents. 

I looked up my bhick list, but it did not contain 
the adress to which the letter was sent. I then 
went to Major Ducrot's desk and asked him to look 
up his black list, and indeed there was the very 
same Berlin address. So the letter was from a 
German spy. Many of the words of entire sen- 
tences in the letter were bracketed or underlined, 
once, twice, or three times. Sometimes, too, there 
were figures like 5, 9, 12, prefixed or affixed to cer- 
tain words. 

It dealt with many subjects. That the weather 
in Edinburgh w^as stormy, threatening; that Daisy 
was getting nervous on account of not having 
received the money as promised ; that Albert can- 
not understand why he has got no reply to a wire 
he sent three days ago ; that there are many open 
spaces in Edinburgh surrounded by houses (un- 
derlined) in which there are rooms to let (under- 
lined), but the furniture is ** scanty 9.'' The rate 
of exchange is going up on account of war rumors, 
consequently he thinks it best to exchange his 
money at once and the furniture in the room and 
so forth. 

I made a literal translation of the letter and 
had then to go to the War Office and from there 



Spying and Counter- Spying 319 

with a staff officer to the Code Department of the 
Admiralty, where we compared it with many Ger- 
man codes in the possession of the Admiralty. 
But none of them would fit it. Some days after- 
wards three more letters to the same address, 
written in the same handwriting, came into my 
hands, posted on the 1st and 3d of August. These 
four letters then combined helped us to decipher 
the most of the four letters, and we found that 
they contained information about Rosyth and the 
Forth Bridge. The information, however, was 
too old to enable the Counter-Espionage to hunt 
down ^*Vilmos.'' His movements in Edinburgh 
were traced, but he had already escaped. 

Another letter that came under my notice was 
from a well-known Manchester firm, addressed to 
Germany in Hungarian. On the face of it it 
looked a bona-fide address in Berlin. Yet my 
suspicions were aroused by the fact that a Man- 
chester firm should write a business letter to 
Berlin in Hungarian, and by the fact that too 
many words were underlined, such as, *^we would 
like to send you samples of our goods, but we are 
afraid they might not reach you on account of 
war breaking out, which seems probable. The 
samples are very fine and we are sure would 
please you, etc., etc.'^ 

Major Ducrot would not agree with me that it 
was a spy^s letter, but I was certain it was. I 



320 Revelations of an International Spy 

then suggested that inquiries should be made in 
Manchester whether there was such a firm, and, if 
so, whether they had written this letter. This was 
done and it turned out that the paper headings 
of the note-paper were very clever imitations of 
their business paper. This spy, too, escaped ar- 
rest on account of lapse of time. The letter was 
dated the 2d of August, but it was the 23d of Aug- 
ust when it came into my hands, which shows lack 
of organization. 

Here another experience. During the first few 
weeks of the war the wires between London and 
important centers were often ** tapped'' dur- 
ing the night. This was particularly the case 
with the wires between London and Edinburgh, 
London-Harwich, London-Portsmouth, London- 
Southampton, London-Dover and Folkestone. 
Toward the end of August motor cars and motor- 
cycle patrols were organized, who ** guarded'' the 
highroads along which these wires were drawn. 
On the 1st of September, Tuesday night, a suspi- 
cious looking ^Hramp" was arrested by one of 
these patrols and lodged in Canterbury jail. The 
old man, he was about fifty-six, refused to speak 
English; he pretended not to understand any- 
thing that was said to him or asked of him. On 
him were found the sketch drawings of a Zeppelin 
and a small pocket notebook with unintelligible 
notes and figures. Nobody could read them. 



Spying and Counter- Spying 321 

There were also about £160 in gold and Bank of 
England notes found on him. No information 
could be gained from him, who he was, whence he 
came, or what his nationality was. 

The War Office asked me, knowing that I speak 
or know most of the European languages, to go 
down to Dartford in Kent (it was near this place 
that he was arrested) and see what I could make 
out of the case. I went through his notes and 
soon saw that most of them were in Hungarian, 
though others were evidently in code. There was 
also the following table in the book : 



S2 


1 


8 


15 


22 


29 


P 


2 


9 


16 


23 


30 


C 


3 


10 


17 


24 


31 


s 


4 


11 


18 


25 




K 


5 


12 


19 


26 




H 


6 


13 


20 


27 




V 


7 


14 


21 


28 





To all intents it looked like a calendar, but it 
was a code in skeleton. It was agreed that I 
should go down to Dartford on the 3d, Thursday, 
and the man should be brought from the Canter- 
bury county jail the same day by two detectives to 
whom I was introduced, and coming with their 
prisoner from the station in Dartford on their 
way to the police station, I should pass them and 
when nearest to the man — as if speaking to my- 



322 Revelations of an International Spy 

self — ^make a remark in Hungarian. This was 
done and, as expected, the man turned to me: 
^^Maga magyar ember T' (**You are a Hun- 
garian TO He then complained to me about his 
arrest, but closely studied me all the while. He 
was indeed a shrewd man. I asked him who he 
was, why he was arrested, what he was doing in 
England, and so forth, but could get no satisfac- 
tory replies. Here is his incredible story. He 
came to England twenty-four years ago from 
America, he was robbed of his money and could 
not continue his journey home. He was ashamed 
to ask his relatives to send him money, so he de- 
cided to remain in England. 

**A11 right,'' I said, **but what did you do all 
these twenty-four years hereT' 

*^ Nothing; I tramped,'' he said. 

^^ Surely," I replied, **you must have lived 
somewhere, done some work some time. ' ' 

No, he had tramped all over the British Isles 
twenty-four years and had done no work. He had 
no home, he could give us no address where he had 
been all these twenty-four years, nor could he 
explain why he could not speak English after 
twenty-four years of tramping in England. 

As to the codes, the money and the sketch he 
was equally obstinate. The same day he was 
taken before the magistrate — I acting as inter- 
preter — and on the technical charge of vagrancy 



Spying and Counter-Spying 323 

he was condemned to six months ' prison to enable 
the Counter-Espionage to make inquiries. 

It is likely that the man had wandered about in 
England for a great many years — he looked it, 
but that he was no ** tramp*' was equally certain. 
His intelligent, shrewd face and his correct, select 
Hungarian, belied all his statements. He was 
without doubt only another impenetrable link in 
the marvelous organization of the German Secret 
Service. 



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